


Aang's Shaving Kit

by Omoni



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: F/F, F/M, Gen, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2010-10-23
Updated: 2014-06-21
Packaged: 2017-10-12 20:31:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 49
Words: 35,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/128747
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Omoni/pseuds/Omoni
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A second collection of drabbles, one-shots and misc ficlets, mostly general and involving all of the characters we know and love.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Gold and Glory

**Author's Note:**

> Writer's Note: Welcome to my second collection of drabbles! Hope you like them!
> 
> Originally written for Avatar_500, for the prompt "Undying". It won third place.

No one ever suspected that some day, at some point, Kyoshi would die. She had lived for so long and without any hint of stopping that it seemed to be the eternal norm. She outlived her consort, three of her second-in-commands, and most of the school children she had grown up with. Even her own daughter was convinced that she would die before her mother, the great and mighty Avatar Kyoshi.

But one day, in the middle of the preparations for the Summer Solstice festival, Kyoshi – who usually kept herself in the middle of preparations – suddenly vanished into her house. When Koko realised that her mother had gone, she went to find her, searching the shorelines, the marketplace and even the temple, before even considering checking her mother's home.

What she walked into was a house darkened intentionally, the flames extinguished and the windows covered. She crept through the silent house, realising with a chill that this was the first time she had even heard the house so quiet in all of her life – if it wasn't full of children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, it was full of townspeople or visitors or politicians. Not once in all of her life had Koko walked into this house to find it so seemingly void of life.

She found her mother sitting up in her bed, her covers pulled over her legs. Her face was bare, startling Koko, who honestly couldn't remember the last time she had seen her mother's naked face. In her hands lay her headpiece, and her plain face, lined with her age and her experiences, was drawn with emotion.

Wordlessly, Koko went to her mother's side, kneeling beside the bed. Kyoshi looked down at her, her eyes kind. "In all of my years of living," she said slowly, as if it were difficult, "I never would have imagined that I would be afraid to die."

Koko leaned in closer; Kyoshi's voice was very thin and soft, so unlike the brusque timbre she was used to.

"And yet, here I am. Moments away and terrified." Kyoshi smiled slowly. Koko felt a kick to her chest, and she reached out and grabbed her mother's hands into hers, holding them around the headpiece.

"You don't look like you're dying," Koko blurted out. "You never told me. You never told any of us."

Kyoshi reached out and placed a hand on her cheek. Koko was dismayed by how thin and frail it felt, how cold the skin was. "Dying is a private affair. It's between you and your demons," Kyoshi replied with that same sad smile.

"Demons?" Koko echoed. Kyoshi merely smiled wider. "Mama, you can't die."

"I can and will and that will be that," Kyoshi answered, her voice firmer. "You people are spoiled, always taking the fact that I'm around for granted."

"Mama…"

"Koko, you'll be fine," Kyoshi cupped her face into her hands, just like when she was a kid. "Just keep on living."

Koko swallowed hard, then nodded. She would live.


	2. Arctic Endurance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writer's note: In one of my memes, pretty much everyone got genderswitched. There was one fic that left Sokka male, and the older brother of Katarr, his waterbending little brother. Who was in love with Raang, the female Avatar...yeah. Lol.  
> Warning: Takes place post-series and contains mild spoilers.

It was bad enough that his brother was younger than him and still managed to be taller and more muscular than him (damned waterbending).

It was worse that his brother was wittier and had more charisma than him (damned cosmic luck).

But it was the _very last straw_ that Sokka had to actually _listen_ to Katarr and Raang - _together_ \- in the _middle of the night_ while he was _trying to sleep!_

This was _supposed to be peace-time!_ Sokka thought darkly. It had been _four years_ since Raang managed to take down the Firelord, and thus both she and Katarr had had _four years to get used to each other without the taint of death clinging to them!_ There was no excuse for it now!

And besides, it was so cold! Where did Katarr even find the _stamina_ for that kind of thing? ( _SPIRITS-DAMNED WATERBENDING._ ) Sokka had been with Suki for a long time, and even _he_ couldn't bear being exposed to the cold air for too long.

And suddenly a thought flashed through his mind before he could destroy it: _Raang is a firebender. She's bound to be...warmer...in some places._

Sokka groaned and buried his head into his pillow. He _refused_ to be jealous of his little brother. _REFUSED!_


	3. Dinner Doom

Aang peered into the pot tentatively, unable to keep the slight grimace from his face. Sokka pretended not to look, hoping that if he didn't, Aang wouldn't look his way and force him to help.

Toph growled from her place in the dining room. "What is with you two already? Hurry up and finish cooking! I'm starving!"

"We all are," Mai piped in helpfully, bringing a round of words of agreement.

"Okay, shut up already!" Sokka snarled, poking his head out of the kitchen and baring his teeth at them. "Real cooking isn't instant, you know!"

Zuko rolled his eyes. "It should be," he answered.

"You're not the Firelord of _physics_ , Zuko!"

"Oh just hurry up, Sokka," Katara snapped.

"Sokka!" Aang suddenly yelped. He wheeled around and found Aang waving his hands around in a flurry, looking panicked and like he was about to cry. Thick black smoke belched from the pot.

 _Well,_ Sokka thought absently as he dashed forward with a towel to smother the flames. _At least now no one has to eat it._


	4. Under New Management

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writer's Note: Written for Blue Lacquer =D  
> Warning: Occurs post-series and contains spoilers.

Ba Sing Se was flourishing. Ever since the walls had come down for good and the city was opened to everyone, thousands of people flocked to the city to either see it for the first time or return to watch it grow. It was a wonderful time for all who stayed within its borders.

The Dai Li remained within the city, recently dismissed by their mistress in the Fire Nation and thus returning their attention to the city of their origin – and just in time, too, since it seemed as if the city was going to be swallowed in Fire Nation cultures instead of Earth Kingdom.

Granted, the Avatar had some words about that, namely about how deeply the Dai Li controlled the city. Long Feng was still imprisoned, and probably would be for longer than most of them stayed employed, and with the Earth King prone to wandering, there was some unrest, needless to say. However, Avatar Aang made it clear – preservation was one thing, but utter control was another.

Which led to a problem of sorts. The social affairs of the city were always handled by the ring of young women who were each known by the single identity of Joo Dee. They were brainwashed to think and feel the same way because that maintained the order that the city needed.

But Avatar Aang was rather vocal on that point as well – _no more brainwashing._ It led to a rather large block in the road to social order, but – and it was collectively agreed upon – the Joo Dee program would still continue, with only a few changes.

First was that Joo Dee was no longer the identity: it was the title. The second was the most obvious: they were no longer brainwashed. Rather, they underwent training, taught hospitality, how to handle conflicts and questions, the make of the city, and general information that would make their tours around the city easier.

For several months, the program was a success. People responded well to these new Joo Dees, enjoyed their individual personalities and differences rather well. And it was always easy to make sure they were keeping people happy, because if they didn't, those people would complain, and from there the offending Joo Dees would be fired.

But there was one instance that stood alone in the history of the new program, one that served as an example to follow when, sometimes, things don't quite work too well - no matter how well planned – short of brainwashing.

* * *

The couple on the train were so excited. They had waited weeks to get to Ba Sing Se, and now finally, after so long, they were there! Together, holding hands, they spilled from the car they were in and onto the platform, stunned by the bright sight before them that was the expanse of the city of their dreams.

"Oh," said a deadpan voice. "Yay, it's you."

They turned and, standing before there was a young woman dressed in a saffron robe, her black hair dressed in a bone hairpiece. They were told to look for a woman dressed this way - but what they were told to expect was a cheerful greeting.

What they got was a young woman dressed as a Joo Dee but with an expression of pure distaste upon her face. She stood slouched, her arms crossed and her eyes narrowed, her mouth curled into a grimace.

"Oh," one of the women of the couple said with a blink, extracting herself from her partner in order to smile and hold up her hands before her in greeting. Her partner did the same with a frown. "Hello."

"Yeah," was the Joo Dee's reply. "Are you here to visit?"

"Yes," the second woman said, eyebrows raised. "We made an appointment. We sent in our forms. You should have our names."

"Yeah, yeah," the Joo Dee answered, waving her hand and turning her back to them. "Let's get this over with."

The two women exchanged worried looks, but shortly followed. It couldn't be that bad, after all.

* * *

It was bad when their tourguide announced everything with crass language and rather pointed remarks.

It was really bad when she wouldn't even stop when asked to, or wouldn't answer questions that really should have been answered.

But by far the worst was when, quite suddenly and in the upper ring, their Joo Dee veered towards one of the bars and went in without another word, not coming out and leaving the two women stranded outside for an hour.

It was in the middle of the second hour of waiting that one of the women braved the bar, peering in the dim light to see what was keeping their guide.

The answer came obviously - their guide sat at one of the tables, drinking something hot and arm-wrestling a man who was three times her size. before her was a pile of coins, and she wasn't even _sweating_. It was the first time that she actually looked like she was enjoying herself. She was even smiling.

The two women decided to wait until she was done. She seemed a little... _dangerous,_ and she didn't seem the type to take to being interrupted to well.


	5. Bosco and the Dangerous Ladies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writer's Note: Occurs during Book Two and contains spoilers. Written for Blue Lacquer.

"This is so _boring_."

Azula rolled her eyes to the ceiling. "Call it, Ty Lee - that was a record. She waited at least half a day before saying it."

Mai scowled, but Ty Lee tapped her painted lips in thought. "I dunno. I remember once when we were kids, she didn't say it for a whole afternoon..." A smile spread slowly, her eyes lowering into devious slits. "Bet I can guess why."

Mai's gaze darkened, even under so thick a layer of white, and Azula waved a hand impatiently. "Both of you, enough. We're still on fragile ground, here." As she spoke, Ty Lee rose to her feet and sauntered to the side, her eyes fixed on the bane of Mai's current existence - Bosco the bear. "This is just a minor set-back, but I assure you, it will even out."

Mai leaned back, her weight on her palms and her eyes closed. Azula sighed a little, making sure it made the barest puff of air. She did sympathise with Mai a bit, actually - this wasn't exactly the most glamourous of invasions, and they had to keep it slow to keep their cover.

But Ty Lee was enjoying herself, at least.

A low sound erupted from Bosco. He was wearing his hat still, and the vest, though dirty, was still in place. Ty Lee stood in front of him with a huge grin, clapping once and leaning back casually away as the bear took a swing at her. She acted as if antagonising the bear was a form of sport, which - for her - it probably was.

"When is the Earth King coming back and taking custody of this horrible crap-factory?" Mai muttered, keeping her eyes closed. "I'm so sick of the smells."

Ty Lee looked over her shoulder. "It's not so bad. I've smelled worse. Have you ever had to deal with an elephant-boar's crap? His smells like flowers in comparison." She reached out to pet Bosco, who for once leaned in and allowed a small pet.

"This is very stimulating conversation," Azula put in dryly, "But we really should be focusing on the matters at hand."

Mai groaned and lay down on her back, halfway on the stairs and halfway on the floor, her arms thrown out. She looked like a murder victim, all splayed out that way. "I don't care about what matters," she answered, her tone long-suffering. "Let's just kidnap the Earth King and ship him to one of the mines and be done with it."

Azula perked up at hearing this; Mai didn't offer ideas very often, but when she did, they occasionally held an insight amidst sarcasm. Sending the Earth King to a mine wasn't a bad solution - once the Dai Li problem was dealt with, that is.

"Can we keep Bosco?" Ty Lee wondered without turning around, now standing on her hands and trying to lure the bear into following her in some kind of weird dance.

"Let's eat him instead," was Mai's answer.

Ty Lee leapt to her feet and made a face, then threw her arms around the massive neck of the beast and buried her face his fur affectionately. Oddly, instead of taking a swipe at her, he relaxed, looking very pleased with the arrangement.

"We're not keeping the bear," Azula answered sternly. "Ladies, focus."

"I'm focusing on when we leave," Mai replied. "I miss real food."

"Me too!" Ty Lee agreed. "I also miss not being cold at night."

Mai's eyes opened, and her face turned sly. "Oh, but I'm sure you find ways to stay warm - especially since we have a firebender-"

Azula turned to her sharply, her acid glare shutting her up, but the smirk remained. Mai looked pleased with herself, having brought up a subject that was considered non-existent, as well as reminding Azula that she knew precisely why they were there. Azula's glare stayed on her for a long time, but she took it, long used to the degree of venom her friend could send her way - especially when she was right.

Ty Lee, however, was painfully oblivious. "Maybe I could sleep with Bosco!" she said suddenly, looking ecstatic about it.

For the first time in months, Azula wondered if she would have been better off with the Royal Escort after all.


	6. His Own Worst Nightmare

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writer's Note: Occurs during Book Two and contains spoilers. Written for Avatar_500.

Zuko knew he was hallucinating. He _knew_ it. There was really no other name to call it, no other word for what he was experiencing.

But that was the logical side of his brain, the side that currently had the softest voice, the side that was buried in fevered dreams and sweat and screams. The hallucinations were so realistic and so haunting that he could be as logical as possible and still be terrified, still be held in place by his fears…

He _knew_ he would get through it. He _always_ did. He always made sure to. He heard Uncle speaking to him, heard Uncle reassure him that everything would be okay and that he would get through this. He felt Uncle's gentle touch and the cold cloth upon his brow, and took comfort from it all.

But the sound of Azula's voice always drowned Uncle out. The sound of his mother begging for his help seemed to make Uncle a liar. The image of himself as Firelord - his face whole and perfect, the son his father _really_ wanted – seemed to get beneath his skin and into his blood and make him truly feel alone and ruined.

And in the midst of the images, the dreams and the nightmares, all he could think was; _This is never going to end, and I'm going to die without knowing what is real…_


	7. Minute Ruler

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writer's Note: Occurs post-series and contains spoilers. Written for Avatar_500 under the prompt "Tyrant".

When Ty Lee met the other Kyoshi Warriors in the dark confines of prison, it was a wary meeting at best. Understandably, there was suspicion and hatred, emotions that Ty Lee took with quiet grace.

Separated from Mai, she was lonely. She needed friends. She reached out to the other girls.

Teaching them chi blocking was her form of extending her friendship. Out of the five, only two were really trusting of her and were willing to listen to her. The other three only followed suit when boredom struck or out of desire to keep fit while imprisoned.

When they were freed by a Water Tribe chief and his group of men, it was the second-in-command that offered her a new home. One she accepted.

From there - once Suki accepted her into her squad formally - when it came to chi-blocking lessons, it was Ty Lee who was leader.

She pushed her students hard. She worked them to a sweat. Even Suki, whom she admired and was a little scared of, was not spared.

There was power in telling them what to do. Power in correcting them, power in telling them they were wrong, that they _had_ to change. When a girl was wrong, in any way, shape, or form, no matter how small, Ty Lee felt that surge of power, one that filled her veins, and she smiled before she reprimanded. Her smile was ice before she scolded and corrected. Her eyes were narrow shards of glass as her voice rose above the sound of gasping breaths, her words rendering their hard work worthless.

It was probably the first time in her life that Ty Lee felt _in control_. She had thought it was that way when she left home to join the circus; indeed, that was something she did of her own volition, something she chose to do. She chose to do that and in doing so, she had controlled her future.

 _Only for it to be taken over by Azula_. It was easy to deny these facts, easy to pretend that her time with Azula was something out of friendship. But of course it wasn't.

It was only in front of the troop of women, her hands on her hips and her make-up thick on her skin, that she truly felt as if she was _in_ control. She not only chose to be here, she could chose what _others_ did. The women before her looked to _her_ for answers, looked to _her_ for instruction. They watched her every move and took everything she did to heart.

It was, she realised, quite easy to get drunk off of this power, easy to push them too hard in order to see if they would do it.

It would take her years to learn the difference between leadership and tyranny, a lesson she thought she had learned from watching Azula fall.


	8. Unhelpful Advice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writer's Note: This was requested by Angelchan 2004 over on LJ, looking for something that involved Kyoshi's horrible advice. It didn't quite turn out the way I expected it, but, hey - what does? So, yeah.
> 
> Warning: Occurs post-series and contains spoilers.

Suki hadn't ever considered herself much of a spiritual person. She occasionally cursed the spirits (or what the elders called _kami_ ) for bad luck or misfortune, thanked them for good things, and sometimes found herself thinking to Avatar Kyoshi when she wasn't sure what to do. But that was the extent of her spiritual participation.

But Aang was like a spiritual conduit. Every step he took practically attracted spirits and ethereal beings from all over the place. Being around him was always a kind of eye-opener for Suki. She had to wonder; _how often did Avatar Kyoshi find herself surrounded by spirits like this?_

These were idle thoughts, which didn't come very often lately. Things were busy with the rebuilding of damaged lands and villages, with trying to heal the dozens of wounds inflicted on the entire world in the course of a century. One of those wounds was Kyoshi Island, and in particular, its segregation from the rest of the world.

Both Aang and Suki were having trouble convincing Oyaji that it was in the best interest of the Island to open their borders. Aang and Suki argued for it, since it would increase the economy and bring new settlers to the shores. Oyaji argued against it out of suspicion and fear that Kyoshi would eventually lose its unique culture and heritage.

"That's ridiculous," Suki snapped. "We've maintained our culture for over four hundred years, borders open or not. If we keep the borders closed, then we'll be sending a bad message."

Aang nodded, though when he spoke, his voice was much calmer. "I agree with Suki. People might see your refusal as hostile."

"Then let them," Oyaji answered, crossing his arms over his chest. "I don't trust the Fire Nation and I'm not sure I trust this new Firelord. Until I am sure Kyoshi will remain safe, the borders stay closed."

"But-" Suki broke in, but Oyaji cut her off.

" _I'm_ Elder here, Suki. My word is my edict."

Suki opened her mouth, then closed it. With a blazing glare, she turned on her heel and stormed out of the meeting house, sliding the door closed behind her _hard_. Aang winced, giving Oyaji an apologetic look. He then turned and followed.

He found Suki sitting by the shore, her robes already dusted with sand. She didn't seem to notice, her face and eyes fixed on some point far away, the expression on her face one of deep anger and deeper hurt.

Suki blinked slowly, sensing Aang behind her. "I _know_ that this isn't the right thing to do," she said, her voice almost a growl. "I understand why he's so paranoid, but this isn't the right thing to do...I _know_ it."

Aang walked over, kneeling down beside her. "But I don't think there's a way to change his mind," he admitted regretfully.

Suki turned to him, looking almost confused for a moment, her eyes looking Aang over slowly as if seeing him for the first time. Then quite suddenly, her eyes brightened. "Aang," she blurted, turning to him. " _You_ could convince him!"

"Uh," Aang stammered. "How?"

Suki smiled. "Summon Avatar Kyoshi!" she exclaimed. "If Oyaji hears the truth from her, he's bound to realise he's wrong!"

Aang shifted uncomfortably. "Kyoshi doesn't really see eye to eye with me on lots of things..."

"But this is _her Island_!" Suki argued. "I'm sure she wants this just as much as we do. I'm _positive_."

Aang wasn't sure, but in the end, he went along with it.

* * *

 _Aang is like a spiritual conduit, an island for airborne spirits to land..._

Suki couldn't help but think this as she watched Aang settle into a deep meditative state. Over time - and especially following the Comet - Aang's ability to cross over to the Spirit World and bring back a spirit to this world was far easier than it had been over a year ago. He was only quiet for a half-hour before he exhaled slowly, his eyes opening an inch.

From his exhaled breath came a stream of light blue, one that slowly trailed out and formed itself into a large and cross-legged woman. Suki stared, the breath instantly snatched from her. Kyoshi was a sight to be held; she was tall even sitting down, her eyes impassive, her mouth a stern line. No portrait or statue did the woman justice, no likeness could ever hope to convey even a shred of the power and grace - and _severity_ \- that the actual woman held.

"Hello, Avatar Kyoshi!" Aang said cheerfully, which made Suki want to facepalm. _How can you be so casual with one of the greatest Avatars of all time?_

Kyoshi, however, seemed to take it in stride. "Hello, Avatar Aang," she replied calmly. Her gaze moved to the side and onto Suki, who suddenly froze in place, swallowing hard. "And hello, Warrior Suki."

Suki stared, her mouth dry, before she managed to croak out, "Hi, Avatar Kyoshi, Sir."

Which made her want to facepalm as well.

Kyoshi's eyes went back to Aang, and Suki couldn't really blame her. "What can I do for you, Avatar Aang?" she asked.

Aang looked serious, his eyes narrowed. "I need your help," he admitted. "With the war over, we need to start helping people heal from the years of war. In order to do that, we need to have some countries reach out to others, form the bridge to peace."

Kyoshi raised one carefully painted eyebrow, her gaze somewhat appraising. "Meaning what?"

"We need to open the borders," Suki blurted out without a second thought. "But Oyaji won't do it. The Island needs to reach out to the mainlands, but we can't convince him that it's a good idea."

"He's worried that the Island will lose its culture," Aang added.

Kyoshi nodded slowly, her face impassive. Suki and Aang waited, both holding their breaths in anticipation for what she had to say.

"I think Oyaji has a good point," Kyoshi said finally.

Both Suki and Aang deflated at this.

Kyoshi raised a gloved hand in hopes to placate them both. "I severed this island to keep my people safe from tyranny and invasion. There is no guarantee that opening the borders will only invite _benign_ guests. However, with them closed, there is no chance of any kind of invaders finding their way here. It's safer."

"But, Avatar Kyoshi!" Suki burst out, unintentionally interrupting Aang. "We _can't_ keep ourselves closed from the world. We need settlers and trade in order to survive!"

"I seem to recall what happened the last time the borders were open," Kyoshi answered thinly, and Suki's eyes flashed with both shame and hurt. "If anything, having the borders closed will ensure that we all survive."

Aang sighed deeply, his face displaying all of the dismay that Suki felt. "So...you won't help us convince Oyaji?"

Kyoshi shook her head slowly. "I'm sorry, but no. He's right in this. You'll have to let it go."

With that, her form slowly faded before vanishing into nothing.

Suki cradled her head in her hands, unable to look up by how utterly bereft she felt.

Aang scowled, leaned back on his hands, and muttered, "I knew asking Kyoshi was a bad idea. It's _always_ a bad idea..."

Suki slapped her hand to her forehead.


	9. Yours and Mine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally written for Avatar_500, for the prompt "Outdo". It won second place.

Azula found her fire first, early in the morning and just when the sun was coming up. It was as if she had just woken up and always knew how to do it. The flames were like her pets. Her laughs filled the air with her joy.

Zuko found his fire in the afternoon, after trying and trying to get it right, his face covered it sweat and his heart racing so hard it felt like it would burst. He only managed to call wisps and flickers, the flames elusive and teasing. Each time, he cried out in dismay and frustration.

Azula was a prodigy, and the whole Nation knew it. If she could help it, by the time she was a master, the whole _world_ would know it. They would bow to her feet and beg her to show them how to summon sapphire flames of perfection. She would laugh in their faces, intent on being the only one.

Zuko was a slow learner, still trying to master the basics as a teenager, still struggling to control his emotions when he should have mastered lightning. His inner vision was swamped with desire to prove that he was a good firebender. His yearning was filled with his father looking at him with pride.

"You'll never catch up to me." It was Azula's favourite phrase, her sentence of choice when taunting her brother. "How can you be the older brother? You're weak, weaker than weak. If the Air Nomads were alive even _they_ would find you weak."

"That's not _true_!" Zuko always said this, always shouted it as loud as he could, as if the volume could drown out Azula for good, but of course it never did. "I just need time, I just need to figure it all out..."

Azula always laughed at him. Taunted him. Made him feel ashamed.

Zuko always tried to fight back. His words were always weightless. Her words stung like untamed flames.

Each child saw only the other child's back. Because of this, neither ever would win.


	10. Frozen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally written for Avatar_500, for the prompt "Neglect". Contains spoilers for "The Boiling Rock" duet.

It was cold in prison. Mai could feel it deep in her bones. She could feel it all over her skin, in her hair. She could taste it on her lips. She could smell it all around her. Her breath comes out in little white clouds, slower and slower as time - days? weeks? - go by. She had stopped counting long ago.

At first, Mai had been huddled in with Ty Lee. That had been nice, since Ty Lee was still her best friend, and she, too, had gone down for the right reasons. Ty Lee's ability to smile through the bleakest moments and add small joy to the worst times helped Mai stay afloat. Occasionally, Mai would even get a laugh out of Ty Lee with a few dry jokes of her own. Ty Lee knew her well enough to realise that if left to her own devices, Mai would merely focus on the bad.

Apparently, Azula knew this, too.

"I can't have you both spending your days in here chipper like a pair of cat-birds," Azula declared that horrible day, her hands on her hips, her smile wide - _almost too wide,_ Mai remembered thinking. "I think you both need to spend some time apart, figure out where your priorities lie. Don't you?"

Mai opened her mouth to say something, but then she closed it. The spark in Azula's eyes burned her tongue. _I won't rise to this,_ she promised herself. _She wants me to break. She wants me to pay._

She looked over her shoulder, where Ty Lee sat, her eyes huge on her face and already full. But then, when her eyes met Mai's, they hardened to something steely. Mai recognised that same look from that fateful moment on the Boiling Rock; determined and unstoppable.

Mai envied her that. She tried to keep it tucked with her. She tried to remember it when she was throw into the cell of her own.

But she eventually forgot. It was so cold, so lonely in the cell. She spent her days curled up on the floor, legs pressed to her chest, her cheek on her knees and her eyes shut. When she was tired, she would lean to the side and sleep for a while. When she was hungry, she picked at the flavourless food they gave her until it stopped.

Sometimes, she thought about Zuko. She wondered where he was. She wondered if he missed her. She wondered if he would come back, and it made her yearn for him.

She thought of those long days alone together, nestled together, and it made her weep. She missed him. She didn't regret what she had done for him, but she missed him _so much_.

Eventually, she was lost to her own despair. She wondered if anyone remembered her. She wondered if she would ever be free.

She wondered if she would ever feel warm again.


	11. What's Left of Us

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writer's note: Written for Avatar_500, under the prompt "token". It won first place.
> 
> Occurs during "The Avatar and the Firelord" and contains spoilers.

It was strange, and probably a waste of time, but something drew Sozin to the heart of the island, to the simple hovel where he knew Roku and Ta Min lived.

He dismounted from his dragon, then crept carefully upon the shaky ground, his eyes watering from the clouds of ash already permeating the air. He knew he was being foolish, and putting of the inevitable was never a good idea, but there was… _something_ ….that drew him to Roku's home. He had no idea what, and he would never have been able to explain it if asked to.

He walked into the simple home, the walls trembling and springing free dust. His eyes adjusted to the dim murk of the darkness, and he looked around with surprise at what his friend had become in his later years.

 _Poverty…near-poverty…_ That was how Roku lived, now. In fact, the entire island was poor, a tiny village of dirty wood and badly managed landscape. It was such a stark difference from the way they had lived as boys nestled in the heart of richness and extravagance. Or even how Sozin lived now.

 _How does he not go insane from this?_

Sozin walked around, his eyes roving over simple furnishings, noticing the various signs of a home left behind in haste. _Roku must have known it would be the end…_ he thought absently, fingers trailing over slightly dusty countertops and curtains.

Sozin had always known where Roku lived; it was part of his somewhat civil arrangement with Roku after their final fight as friends. That was when Roku ceased being "Roku", and became merely "the Avatar." Because of this, he kept his distance, despite the fact that everything in his being told him that Roku was wrong, and that it _was_ his duty as Firelord to expand the borders…

He was thinking this thought when his eyes fell on something golden and familiar on the floor. Something froze deep in his breast when he recognised it for what it was, and without thinking, he stooped and picked it up, cradling it in his hands gently.

 _He left it behind…?_

It was a childish thought. Of _course_ Roku left it behind – he probably didn't have time to think about bringing _anything_ with his home burning to ashes. But still, something dark and painful seemed to hatch deep in Sozin's heart, and he held the headpiece so hard its edges bit into his palms.

He still felt betrayed. He still felt like he had all of those decades ago, when he was humiliated in front of the entire country by the one person he thought he could trust everything with.

He still felt that deep crack in his heart.

He sighed, deeply, then went to place the headpiece back onto the floor – only to stop. He hesitated, then pocketed it.

Somehow, doing this made him really feel as if their relationship was truly over.

Without looking back, Sozin left the house – and the past – behind him.


	12. Sins of the Mother

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writer's note: Written for Avatar_500, under the prompt "honour".
> 
> Contains spoilers for "Zuko, Alone".

Ursa isn't a very ambitious person. She's the type of person who can adjust to many different situations with very little protest. She has always been this way. She was like this when she was told she was to marry Ozai, the second son, a man – boy, really – rumoured to be impetuous and volatile.

She never dreams of being on the throne. She never thinks about being anything other than the second son's wife, a princess forever, her children princes and princesses for life.

Ozai has enough ambition for the both of them. He is constantly teetering on the edge of driving himself mad over this. His feet always fall close to the edge of Iroh's shadow.

She worries, but realises that this is his way. Ozai wants far more than the world can give him. His hands could be full and still leave him wanting more.

Her own successes are contingent on the health of her children. When they smile, she is content. She doesn't have any thoughts of glory. Her honour is simple, calm. Her victory is a calm family.

Only her family is not calm. There is tension and confusion. Her children are healthy, but they do not smile – they fight, like angry rat-dogs over a single bone. Her husband watches and smiles, moulding them into soldiers for his own use.

Ursa isn't a very ambitious person. But when it comes to her children, she realises that her small victories and delusions are not enough. Even her honour means nothing.

In the end, her honour is barely enough to save her children.


	13. Belonging

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writer's note: Written for Avatar_500, under the prompt "monk". It won third place.

When Pathik was a boy (and he was one once), he often had his eyes on the skies. In his small hovel of a village, it was better to look to the sky than to the poverty of reality.

And there, dotting the sky, were hundreds of orange and yellow shapes, like strange orange and yellow birds. The Airbending monks.

Pathik longed to throw away his pick and join them. He longed to feel the wind upon his face, to know real joy and laughter, to know what it was like to be free and taken care of, rather than chained and having to take care of everyone else.

But for a long time, it would never be. He was needed. His back was strong, his hands capable, and there were so few men and women left in the village who were able-bodied enough to work.

His eyes would always linger, however. In his mind, he would imagine another life, another time, of being rescued by those flying benefactors, of being freed of his labourious prison. He had elaborate fancies of the monks coming to the village and realising they had made some overlooking error, and that he – simple, ordinary Pathik – was actually descended from the Nomads and needed to start training right away.

These dreams and fancies kept him sane. It kept him from succumbing to the sorrows a hard life can give. While many of his fellow workers fell into disarray, he was still standing.

But even _his_ strength wasn't enough to keep his village standing. He remained on his feet long after his home fell into nothing.

When he realised nothing kept him there, Pathik left. He followed the shapes sliding through the skies, often stumbling when his eyes remained fixed. He wandered aimlessly, desperately, longing for a home now that his was nothing but dirt and mud. He was still young. He could still make it.

And eventually he did. Somehow. At the base of the huge mountains, he waited. Someone _had_ to come down from there, _had_ to touch solid ground once more – why else would they be called "Nomads"?

Pathik had already lost so much already. He didn't mind waiting just a bit longer, if it meant gaining something worthwhile.

All while he waited, he kept his eyes on the skies, on those distant orange and yellow specks that he knew were not birds.


	14. Lost and Found?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writer's note: Please blame Lavanya Six for this.

Mai knew she was, in a way, very lucky.

She was rich. She wasn't ugly. She had both parents and they had managed to finagle their way out of getting into the war. She was friends with two other girls who didn't seem to despise her and shared company with a boy who seemed not annoyed to find her at his side. While she had to keep her mouth shut and look like a doll every time she was in public, it still could have been much, much worse.

It was simple, really, her reasoning.

You see, she knew her parents' dirty little secret. They didn't know that she knew, and no one else knew, either, but she did know. This secret was embarrassing, humiliating, and also really, really dumb.

But she kept her mouth shut. She, out of anyone else, knew what scandal meant, and knew what would happen to her dad if she revealed what she knew. But knew she did.

To their credit, her parents tried to keep it secret from her. They tried to shield her ears - and eyes - from all evidence of what was happening. But the thing about a scandal was that it was very hard to keep it secret, especially from people - like Mai - who really, really wanted to know.

But she did find out.

You see, Mai wasn't an only child by choice. She had learned one day, while spying on her parents out of boredom (she had been hiding in her room playing with her knives when she heard her parents fighting), that Mai wasn't actually her parents' first child.

In fact, she was their _fifth._

It was something of a shock to learn, needless to say. For someone like Mai, who had lived her life knowing that while she was castigated for speaking, she was still privileged enough to be an only child. To learn that this was suddenly false mystified and confused her. _Where were the other four children?_

She found out soon enough.

"I think it's working," she heard her mother exult happilly.

"I do, too," her father replied.

"By keeping Mai in one place at all times, under the watch of at least one person, we'll never lose her!"

Her father chuckled. "I never thought it would be this easy," he admitted. "By the way, I'm so glad you named this one Mai, too. It's always hard to remember new names."

"Oh, I know. And besides, it's so pretty and simple. It really could match any little girl."

"The previous three were also good matches for the name."

"The second one was a little dodgy."

"Oh yes, I'm so glad she got lost."

"Are you saying you lost her on purpose?"

"Never! But I just...didn't really look as much as I did with the first and third."

"Oh," her mother sighed tragically. "And what about the first and second Tom-Toms? Those were dreadful!"

"Yes, I could never live down the fact that I had not just one son, but two."

"I'm so glad we never went public with either of them."

"Though the first was a tough call."

"Oh yes, very much."

They shared a laugh.

The fourth Mai sat down slowly in front of her parents' door, her mouth parted in shock. She had always known that her parents had wanted more children, but she had never really understood that the loss of these children were actual... _losses!_ She had thought that "loss" was code for "miscarriage", a word she learned amongst her mother's gossiping friends, which meant "getting too sick to keep a baby in your stomach".

But apparently, she was wrong.

Her parents had simply _lost her siblings._

From then on, Mai kept close to home. She made sure her parents could always see her. She decided she wasn't going to end up like her phantom siblings. She wondered where they all went. Who they all were.

And whether or not they had to sit around silent like a painted doll.

 _Maybe getting lost wouldn't be so bad after all...?_

But then she thought... _Nah._


	15. Pretty in Pink

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writer's note: BLAME ANGELCHAN 2004 AND SARAJAYECHAN FOR THIS.

"This is a stupid idea."

Mai sighed, holding up the ornate obi in her hands with an air of irritation. "You've said this well over six times and yet you haven't left the room or done anything else to change it."

Zuko's cheeks went red. His hair was pulled back and thus his face was much easier to see. "So what? That doesn't mean it's not stupid."

Mai rolled her eyes and walked behind him, throwing the obi out and wrapping it slowly around his waist. It hugged him just around the ribs and stomach. "Shut up," was her reply. "You could have said no when I pulled the kimono out. You could have said no when I waxed your hair and weaved it into the combs. You could have said no when I _put the kimono on_. And here I am on the finishing touches and _you still haven't said no._ "

Zuko's face went scarlet, all the way to his ears and down his neck. He turned his face towards her, and the elaborate chains of tiny ornaments in the combs moved a little. "It's a slow day and I need a distraction," he said hotly, holding his arms out akimbo as she tied the obi over and over again.

"Should I tie this at the front?"

His red face turned into a scowl. "Not funny, Mai," he grumbled.

She tied it in the back all the same, much to his relief. Then she pushed down on his arms to get him to lower them. He did, and she moved from behind him to in front of him, looking him over critically.

Her eyes stopped at his face. "Paints?"

His eyes went huge. " _No!_ " he shouted.

Her eyes danced. "Maybe next time."

Then, to Zuko's surprise, he watched her cheeks turn _pink_. "And there will be a next time," she added.

Zuko gaped at her. "What?"

"You make a lovely girl," she replied, melting his brains.


	16. Aim Carefully

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writer's note: Written for the LJ Community Avatar_500, for the prompt "teach".

Mai knew the moment the knife left her hand that the throw was wrong. Her arm had jerked so hard that it strained her shoulder and hurt. To her complete lack of surprise, the knife barely went a few inches from her hand before clattering forlornly to the ground. She glared at it, her shoulders drooping, her small face twisted into a frustrated scowl.

Her uncle Koryu stood a few feet behind her, his arms crossed and his own face pulled in another version of a scowl. She turned around and looked at him, still drooping. His expression didn't change - for a moment. Then he sighed and dropped his arms, reaching out and placing a large hand on the top of her head. He patted twice before pulling it away.

"I suck," Mai said bitterly. "I can't get the timing right."

"You will," Koryu answered shortly, leaning back and crossing his arms again.

Mai's scowl deepened. "No, I won't," she snapped. "This is stupid. I can't do this. Why do you even try? I'm as useless as my stupid, dumb parents."

Koryu's hand was suddenly on top of her head again, covering like a soft leathery hat. She blinked, then looked up, biting her lip. However, when she met his eyes, she saw that they were calm.

"First of all," he said sternly, but softly, "your parents are not stupid, nor dumb. They are your parents and you should respect them." She sniffed, but he went on. "Second of all, you _can_ and _will_ do this. No niece of mine will lack the means to fight for herself."

"It's not like it matters," Mai muttered sulkily, her gaze lowering to the ground. "They baby me no matter what. My life is too boring to have to defend myself."

Koryu merely steered her back towards the target, pushing on her head with his hand gently before letting go. She stumbled and shot him a glare, but leaned down to pick up the discarded knives from the ground.

In which then Koryu swooped forward and raised a fist.

Mai jumped back and, with a panicked sort of yelp, threw her arm out and let go of two knives, not even thinking. They soared towards her uncle, and she uttered another yelp, this time one of dismay at what she had just done.

One knife sailed aimlessly by him, but the other nicked his right shoulder, just through the clothes. No skin broke, but it stopped him, shock and pleasant surprise showing on his craggy face.

"I…" Mai opened her mouth to apologise, her face pale, but Koryu held up his hand, silencing her. With eyes that shone with pride, he said, "Now do the same thing to _the dummy_ , alright?"

Mai smiled, grabbed a handful of knives, and turned back towards her foe.


	17. Flying Lessons?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writer's note: Written for the LJ Community The_CakeisaPie, for the genfic/friendship contest!

"I want to learn how to fly," Sokka announced suddenly, breaking both Aang and Katara out of their individual reveries. It was in the middle of a particularly uneventful flight, and even Momo looked subdued and lost in whatever thoughts he had.

Katara snorted. "Great. Let's toss you off and see how far you go."

"Ha, ha," Sokka answered. "I don't mean it like that. _Obviously_ I don't mean it like that!"

Aang peered up at him in a backwards sort of way, since at the moment he was sitting upon Appa's head and holding the reins. "Well, what _do_ you mean?" he wondered simply, lacking the sarcasm that Katara had in spades.

Sokka scooted closer to the edge of the saddle. "Well, we can't always depend on you flying this thing," he replied, patting Appa's furry head affectionately. "What if you were kidnapped or something? One of us should know how to fly him, and I say that one should be me."

Katara snorted again. "Why, so that you can direct us into even better chaos that would force Aang to free himself to save us?"

Sokka scowled at his sister from over his shoulder. "Why are you not helpful?" he snarled.

"Besides," Aang put in helpfully, "if anything, Appa would probably just save himself and try to rescue me if you two got in trouble."

Brother and sister stared at the Avatar, their faces similar in their shock and annoyance. He leaned back an noticed, then smiled and shrugged. "What? It's true!"

"Well," Sokka rubbed his chin. "Maybe that's because you're the only one who ever _flies him_!" He stood up and hopped over the lip of the saddle, seating himself beside Aang. "Come on, fess up! How do you fly him?" He reached out, his fingers making spidery motions, trying to snatch up the reins.

Aang leaned away from him, deftly avoiding his busy fingers. "There's a skill involved, you know! You can't just grab the reins and be an expert!"

Sokka's hands were still held out. "Why not? You can do it, and you're just a kid! I'm older, and far more experienced, and therefore I should be all set for it!"

"Right," Katara broke in helpfully, her arms crossed over her chest. "This from the guy who got scared around any kind of herding animal we ever had domesticated, to the point of hiding in the latrine for hours until the animals were out of sight."

Sokka glared daggers. "I'm pretty sure Aang isn't interested in that kind of thing right now, so could you please knock it off?" he hissed.

Katara's reply was to chuckle, so Sokka decided to ignore her for the rest of the day. He turned back to Aang. "So come on, how do you do it?"

Aang still looked uncertain, especially with Katara's recent storytelling. "Are you sure you want to learn?"

"Yes!" was the reply.

"Okay..." Aang scooted a little over, and Sokka eagerly moved to his side. "It's really pretty easy, if you think about it. Appa is a really smart guy - he can usually sense what you want with the way you sit and shift, especially when you're on his head."

Appa uttered a small moan in agreement, and Aang grinned and patted his head affectionately. "Exactly! The reins are good to help him steer, because sometimes his eyes have trouble focusing on what's before him. The nuns said it was something to do with how they're positioned on his head."

Sokka rubbed his chin, the exact image of a pondering student. Aang took this as a good thing and went on. "Voice commands work, but Appa usually only listens to short commands, like 'yip, yip' or 'stop' - things that are easy to understand. Using the reins reinforces what you say, too, and there are different ways to hold them with each command."

Katara was now close by, leaning over the lip of the saddle with a curious expression on her face. "That's really detailed," she said.

Aang smiled at her, unable to resist. "Of course it is!" he replied. "Flying is really serious business, after all."

Sokka suddenly burst out laughing at this, which earned him a confused look from both Aang and Katara at the same time. He blinked, then stopped in mid-laugh. "What? That was a joke, right?" He paused. "Right?"

Aang frowned at him. Katara rolled her eyes. "Maybe you're not ready for flying lessons, yet," was his answer.

 _"What!"_ Sokka protested. Katara laughed this time. Sokka pestered Aang for hours, but the monk was firmly set in his decision. There would be no flying lessons today.


	18. Kaleidescope

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writer's note: Written for Avatar_500, for the prompt "memory".

When Aang dreams, he dreams of the past.

His mind comes alive with the images of his previous lives, presenting him with images so rich and real that when he wakes from them, he's always confused.

He remembers being a Fire Nation warlord, overseeing thousands of soldiers who looked up to him like a king. He was desperate to keep the peace, desperate to unite his warlike personality with the peaceful blood of his heritage.

He remembers being an Air Nomad nun, relieved at being free of the pressures of detachment, finally allowed to be as attached as possible to the world she adored. Her mind was always open to everything, never closing any possibility down due to the difference of cultures.

He remembers being a Water Tribe warrior, relaxed and easygoing in his ways. Everything came easy to him, even learning the elements, and everything was like a game - except for one moment, when both his fiancée and his easygoing nature were ripped from him in one fatal moment of shown emotion.

He remembers being an Earth Kingdom giant of a woman, frustrated with how bloated and spoiled the rich and tyrannical had become. She threw herself into learning the elements in this fury, her drive forcing her to learn and become a tyrant all her own - a lesser evil for the greater good.

Most of all, he remembers being a Fire Nation noble, one that was best friends with the prince. How easy it was to live the good life, and how hard it was to see the price that life cost him, usually built upon the backs of the poor. His life was spent in vain trying to fend off the inevitable conquest of the world, his death thrown away without noble cause.

When he wakes, he has to lie there in the dark, eyes open to inky gloom, and _force_ himself to remember that he is not _them_ \- he is himself, Aang, and he now has the chance to learn from his past mistakes. He has a chance now to make it right.

But in sleep, the dreams still linger. They always will, until soon, the next Avatar will dream of him, and learn from his mistakes.


	19. Always Never

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writer's note: Written for Avatar_500, for the prompt "supernatural".

A long time ago, long before the Avatar came into being, the world was new and green. Everything living was living to learn. All that moved were newborn. All that breathed did so for the world.

Out of all that lived, the largest of them all were the lion-turtles. They glided through the waters for days, mysterious islands with sparse and empty shells. They hardly ever surfaced. They kept to themselves. They were private, sparse – creatures of solitude.

As the world grew up, so did the living things. People emerged, bright and intelligent. They would often see the mysterious shells of the mythical creatures, know what they were and what they meant, but never had any of them seen the face of one, ever: it was simply not possible.

Time aged the world and its creatures. Soon, the sparse shells became vast and full of life. Creatures minute in size would make a home there. The rough surface would be smoothed over with plants and nests.

And the lion-turtles kept moving on. Never once did they make contact. Never once did they speak.

People grew use to their presence on the sidelines. They took it for granted that these majestic creatures would always be there at the edges of their lives. They were like a shining mystery, held out of reach but still enjoyable.

But one day, out of nowhere, the faraway figures vanished from the horizons. The coasts were void of their ever-gliding forms. The portable forests were nowhere to be seen.

People were confused. They didn't know what to make of it. Was it an omen? Was it an offence?

They waited. They listened. They kept their eyes on the waters, straining eyesight to see if the lion-turtles would return.

Only in vain.

Eventually, the people forgot. The images faded to memory. Memories faded to stories, which led to myths. Pretty soon, legend replaced fact, and no one living could ever recall seeing one, despite the fact that once everyone who lived always had.

And, at around the same time the lion-turtles vanished, the Avatar was discovered. No one ever made the connection. Only the Avatar in the far and distant future ever would – and that was only when he was greeted by a long-hidden lion-turtle at a moment of desperate need.

His pleas had been silent, but they spoke loud over hundreds of miles and years. He was the Avatar – he was supposed to do what they could not.

And yet, perhaps they could do many things that the Avatar could not.

Like remember. Remember the very beginning, when the world was new, and their backs were bare.


	20. Boring in Brown

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writer's Note: This is sort of the sequel to "Pretty in Pink."

"I am _not_ wearing that."

"It's your turn."

"You can say whatever you want to me in any kind of threat you want, but it won't make me wear that."

"That" was one of the Jasmine Dragon's sever smocks. Zuko held it up before him with a sly grin on his face. Mai stood there with narrowed eyes, her arms crossed over her chest. "You said that if I let you paint me in the kimono you would let me dress you in something," Zuko went on, the grin never fading. 'This is what I want you to wear."

Mai raised an eyebrow. "I just think you want me to do your chores."

Which wasn't too far off, if it were examined closely enough. They were alone in the teashop, and Iroh had left the place in Zuko's care (Iroh himself had gone drinking with Toph, who had just shown up in the middle of the day needing advice), and now that the place was closed, it was clean-up time.

So, really, assuming that he just wanted her to do his chores wasn't that big of a leap.

Except, "Actually, that's not it at all," he admitted, the grin wavering just a bit - something that got her attention. "I just..." He blushed and shoved the smock to her. "Put it on!"

Mai was curious now. "Will you tell me why if I do?"

"Yes!"

Mai considered, then took the garment with delicate fingers and threw it over her head. She adjusted it, smoothing it over her and sighing, "It's way too big," she lamented, holding out her arms.

"I know," he agreed, "it's mine."

Mai crossed her arms again, and he looked away, one hand at the back of his head shyly. "So, uh, you see... ever since things have calmed down, and Uncle asked me to help him out sometimes... I had this little... thought, you know?"

"No, I don't," she answered blandly.

"Er," Zuko looked away, lowering his hand and poking his index fingers together in front of him, his face crimson. "I would sometimes think of you... and me... and us being here together. And you would serve me tea. And we could pretend to be strangers. And then... uh..."

Mai blinked, looking sceptical... but only for a moment. Her eyes focused, and her cheeks went pink. "Oh," she said softly. "You mean... _here?_ "

Zuko looked up, nodding hopefully.

Mai sighed, then rolled her eyes and grinned. With one hand, she shoved him into the closest chair and gave him a menu. Zuko's entire face lit up with joy.

"What'll it be, _sir_?" Mai wondered, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

He knew he would be paying for it later, when it got to the good part. But he didn't care. He _so_ didn't care.


	21. Tooth and Nail

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writer's Note: I've been sick lately, and this usually means taking unfortunate medication. In turn, this tends to cause strange dreams. With a nudge from Owldee, I decided to write one of them out. Yes, it IS supposed to be this weird. Enjoy... I think.

Even the strongest villains have a weakness.

For some it's a memory of the past. For others, a taste or smell. Others still, it was the stripping them of their weapons, or even their friends or followers.

Most thought that Azula's weakness was the latter, that Ty Lee and Mai's betrayal of her was the last drop in the glass. That realising that it wasn't fear, but love, that drove people to doing things was what broke Azula's mind, and thus eventually brought her down.

But there was something missing.

When Ty Lee's fingers drove themselves into Azula's body, hitting various nerves that stopped her from moving, she fell. She spun downwards, unable to catch herself from falling.

One of her hands slammed into the hard ground below. And the landing caused one of her nails to break off.

Something seemed to break off in her mind when she felt that. It was as if her control had chipped away, just a bit. Her eyes twitched, her mouth pressed closed, and for a moment all she could taste was fire.

It was her first hint.

Later, when she had regained her senses, she sat down alone and tried to mend what was broken, but no amount of filing or painting could make the nail look presentable. And when she held her hand before her face in a fan, the ugly short nail seemed to mock her.

With a clouded mind, she then decided to cut all of her nails off to match the broken one.

With each cut nail was a layer of sanity. With each file was like filing away part of her control.

When she held her hands before her face again once the deed was done, she was already insane.


	22. Proud Flame

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Contains spoilers for "Appa's Lost Days". Written for Avatar_500, for the prompt "defeat".

Suki never thought of herself as a proud woman. She thought herself to be very realistic of her own limits and strengths, and never once wished for more than she could achieve on her own.

  
"Are you weakening already, peasant?"

She had never thought herself the type to take insults to heart and _burn_ from them, actually physically feel a burning sensation from her gut to her chest.

"Is your whole island full of weaklings like you?"

She had always thought her skin was thicker than anyone else's. She had always thought that training herself to the core as a warrior had hardened her resolve, had taught her that pride is the worst kind of folly.

"You know, I think after we're done with you, we'll go visit your nice little home town. How's the weather down there at this time? _Weak?_ "

But it wasn't strength or character that drove Suki to her feet, armed with only her fists and teeth, a savage yell ripping from her throat. It wasn't being immune to taunts or insults, or realising her own worth. It was pride - that last flicker and flare of bright light - before her own flame went out.


	23. Aprehensive Bondage

Mai knew how important it was to get along with the members of the Avatar's little group. She knew it was important for her own future in it, as well as, more personally, to Zuko as well. She wanted to be able to be in the room with Zuko as well as his friends, and not have to shrug off glares and jump over extended legs or smell her tea for poisons.

Most of all, she wondered what it would be like to have friends, real friends, who saw her as a person and not an asset. Granted, Ty Lee had – and always had – seen her as such, but she wondered if Zuko's friends would be able to, as well. Only in this case, she wanted to be known and seen as something more than "that gloomy knife girl that was bad but now is with Zuko".

So first, she began with Aang.

"Can I talk to you for a second?" she wondered one afternoon, during a brief break between meetings. She and Aang had taken to being with Zuko during some of the meetings for support, as well as to voice and offer anything that could be of use.

Aang stopped, blinked, then smiled. "Sure. What do you want to talk about?"

Mai looked over her shoulder to make sure that Zuko was preoccupied (he was being droned at by one of the etiquette tutors). She then turned back to Aang and said, rather weakly, "Do you think you and I… you and me… er… do you think we could possibly be friends?"

Aang blinked wide eyes at her. For a moment, she felt her cheeks warm up, wondering if she hadn't been nice enough or had been too blunt or stupid. But then he grinned widely and said, in a sing-song voice, "You mean we aren't already?"

Mai was so surprised that she blurted out, "No," before checking herself. "I tried to kill you. Many times."

Aang nodded. "But you also saved Zuko and Sokka when you could have taken Azula's side," he added. "You were bad, but I think it was just you being on the wrong side without knowing it, right?"

That was exactly right. Speechless, she nodded slowly.

With another grin, he slapped a hand onto her arm, squeezing gently and affectionately. "Well, then, you have nothing to worry about!" he replied. "You're on the right side now, and you're sorry, so that's what counts."

"Er," and here it got awkward. "I guess I'm sorry." She wondered if she was. She had been having a lot of fun when she had been with Azula and Ty Lee…

Aang quirked a brow at her curiously. "You guess?"

"I wasn't then. I am now. I'm pretty sure."

He seemed to think about it, before he nodded slowly. "I think that can be enough," he replied. "As long as you don't throw sharp things at us, it should be fine."

Mai couldn't resist. "What if I have a reason?"

Aang smirked, and she instantly found she liked him, after all. "Then we'll have to duck."

There was a pause between them, one filled with a shy and smiling silence, one that was broken eventually by Zuko finally reaching their side looking exasperated. "That was horrible," he moaned. "What were you guys talking about?"

"The proper nouns to use when address a crowd," Mai said instantly.

"And what to do if the crowd has more than one female in a group of more than two males," Aang added, delighting Mai.

Zuko groaned and covered his ears, and both Mai and Aang laughed. It seemed to be a pretty sure thing, their solidified friendship.

But on the way back to the meeting, just to be sure, Mai murmured softly to Aang in passing, "Thanks for… you know… the whole 'saving my brother' thing."

She darted away before he could reply, too mortified by the thought of whatever he could have said.

Mai would have bet that since Aang was so ready to embrace her that Katara, who was obviously with him, would have no problems with it either.

"What, so you think it's okay what you did?" was Katara's sharp response, her arms crossed over her chest and her head held high. "You think it's okay that you put Suki in prison, dressed up like a Kyoshi Warrior, helped Ba Sing Se fall? You think it's okay that you just sat around in the Fire Nation giving Zuko bad ideas while we slaved for a way to win this war?"

Mai sighed. She probably should have felt chastised – and probably some small part of her did – but she felt mostly annoyed. "No," she answered flatly. "What are you, stupid? Why would I think that?"

Katara opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Her face was the picture of shocked.

"I know what I did was wrong. I had enough time to think about that when I was in prison," she continued, keeping her voice carefully flat. "You don't think I'm sorry?"

"Are you?"

"Of course I am!" Now she was mad. "No, I'm happy that I recently realised that my whole life was based off of propaganda, and that I had no idea I was a tool." Her voice dripped with sarcasm.

Katara seemed to soften a bit. "Well, I wouldn't say you were a tool, but…" She scowled again. "You still owe us. Big time. You could have killed your own brother if it weren't for us!"

Mai snorted, which made Katara's cheeks redden. "Do you really think I would kill my own brother? Or that I thought he was in real danger with you, and I just let him go as fodder? Get real."

Katara seemed to think about it, further sparking Mai's ire. "Look, I know you hold grudges, and that's something I respect. But don't you think it's gotten old, now? I'm trying to be nice."

Mai couldn't keep some of the desperation from her tone, something that Katara obviously heard. The younger girl raised a brow, then sighed. "Okay. We can be friends. But if you so much as try anything bad again-,"

"You'll waterbend me to death. I get it."

"No," was the surprising reply. "I was going to say that I would find a way to hide your nail polish and hair-products."

Mai liked her all the more for this.

Sokka, however, was a completely different person. Unlike Aang, he wasn't all-forgiving. Unlike Katara, he didn't hold a grudge. He was somewhere in between… or miles from both.

And the fact that Suki was also there didn't help matters, either.

He peered at her suspiciously from behind Suki, who stood calmly and took it with quiet grace. Mai felt pained inside, since Suki was also someone she wanted to be friends with – and who probably held the biggest grudge of them all.

But first, Sokka.

"Can you please step out from behind your girlfriend and talk to me?" she pleaded.

"No!" Sokka snarled. "Not until you prove to me that you won't throw anything at me!"

"Us," Suki admonished lightly.

"Us!" Sokka agreed.

Mai considered, actually. What better way to make amends with both if she proved that she wasn't a threat? Wordlessly, she nodded, then reached into both sleeves and unbuckled both wrist-holsters, sliding them out and dropping them to the floor. She repeated the gesture, reaching up further and grabbing the knives that were strapped to her upper arms and pulling them off, adding them to the pile.

Next, she reached into her pockets and pulled out two pincushions, each generously stuck with stilettos and arrows, dropping them as well.

"Wait," Suki interrupted suddenly, when Mai knelt down to do her legs. "You have more than that?"

Mai didn't bother looking up, lifting up her pants leg as she spoke. "Of course. Always. Especially now that Zuko's Firelord, I never know what to expect, and would rather overcompensate than be caught short."

Suki blinked, then smiled faintly, sliding from her seat and kneeling down in front of Mai, surprising the older girl into freezing. (Sokka uttered an indignant and undignified yelp but was ignored.) Suki peered at the discarded weaponry, her fingers careful and respectful. "Lots of these have clockwork springs," she said, eyeing them closely. "Some of them are finger-triggered. Do you ever get confused?"

Mai was too startled to wonder at what she was getting at, or why it mattered. "No. I can tell by feel, and where I place them on my body."

Suki nodded. She looked up and smiled again. "I bet it was a trip, learning them."

Mai had to laugh a bit, thinking back to the many numerous times when she was smaller, and the springs had gone off – or wouldn't go off – at the worst times. "Oh, a trip and a half."

Suki studied her for a moment, her eyes searching. Mai held herself carefully still, her hands still on her pants, returning the gaze without wavering. Suki blinked first, then smiled wider.

"It's okay," she said finally. She got to her feet, still smiling. "You can keep them on."

"Suki!" Sokka burst out. "Are you crazy? She'll stab us!"

As Mai calmly replaced her weapons, Suki turned and, to Mai's delight, scolded Sokka in reply. "If she was, she would have done so already! You saw how many weapons she has! Don't be stupid. She's fine."

Sokka looked doubtful. "Well," he said slowly. "I can always appreciate the love of a good weapons-set… But I've still got my eyes on you!"

Mai looked up and smirked. Before she strapped the last holster onto her wrist, she let one of the arrows loose. It soared through the air and barely missed grazing Sokka's cheek before landing in the wall behind him. Sokka went white, his hand going to his chest.

"Sorry," she said casually. "Spring problem."

Suki laughed. Sokka slid into Suki's chair, gasping and lamenting about heart attacks and death. Mai figured that, probably, things were now okay between them.

Last, Mai went to Toph, one of the few people she had been dreading. She was pretty sure that, out of anyone, Toph would be the last person to ever forgive her.

So when she sat down with the younger noblewoman, she was surprised to be greeted with, "Save it. I know what you're here for, and you've got it."

Mai blinked. Toph was sitting casually, one hand up with a finger in her nose, the other playing with the loose strands of hair. Her blank eyes were fixed, but her mouth was a wide grin.

"Can I ask why?"

"Sure." Toph pulled her hands away and sat up, turning her head towards Mai as much as she could manage. "I get what it's like to be under the thumb of people who are supposed to care about you and take care of you. I also get what it's like to let yourself fall into it because you don't know anything else. And I also get what it's like to see the alternate way to live and realise how stupid you were for keeping yourself trapped."

Mai was speechless, her hands clenched together in her lap.

"So you want my friendship? You've got it. You had it before I met you, when I heard about you turning sides and helping Sulklord and Wolf Butt run from that stupid prison." Toph seemed to twitch, and her finger was in her ear this time, concentrating on scratching some undeniable itch.

Mai stayed quiet, her eyes downcast. She was glad Toph was blind, because she wasn't sure she could save face while feeling as if were about to cry.

"Thank you," she managed.

"Yeah, no need," Toph answered, wiping her finger on the front of her dress. "Can we go out, now? You said there would be food, and I smell no food."

Mai smiled, glad that the gesture banished the tears. "Are you sure you can handle spicy food? Earth Kingdom food is so boring."

Toph scowled. "You're boring."

Mai couldn't help it. She laughed.


	24. The Madness of Peace

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writer's Note: Originally written for Avatar_500 over on Livejournal, for the prompt "Mad", but it ended up being too long to post, and I found I couldn't cut any of it, so here it is anyway. Contains spoilers for "Imprisoned".

When the Fire Nation soldiers took over Haru's village, he knew that life, as he knew it, was over and done with. It was bad when the soldiers demanded an insurance payment every week, one that would guarantee their home's safety but would keep them in poverty. Worse, still, when rumours started going around that the soldiers were planning something, something to do with mining.

"Dad," he said once, when Tyro was still around, "are we in big trouble?"

Tyro's hand was large and warm atop of his son's head. Haru felt a pang of childish rebellion at this gesture, determined to prove he was too old for such coddling, but something stilled him. Maybe it was his father's eyes, so dark and wary.

"We're not in trouble yet, son," Tyro said gently, not looking at him. His eyes were on his wife, who stood quietly behind the counter, her hands empty and cold.

Haru opened his mouth for clarification, hoping to be told what precisely Tyro meant by "yet", but he never got to. At that moment, the doors opened, and the weekly soldier came by for his bribe.

He didn't find out until a few years later, when he was barely sixteen.

He and his father were in the fields as usual, going over their earthbending as discreetly as possible. At this time, rumours were rampant that the village's earthbenders were being stolen away once proven, and Haru and Tyro were determined to avoid such a fate. By this time, Tyro had little else to teach his only son, but Haru persisted in begging for lessons, just wanting to spend the time with his father.

When their lesson was over and they emerged from the barn together, energised and smiling, Haru said, "Same time tomorrow, right, Dad?"

Tyro chuckled. "You know I have nothing else to teach you."

Haru smiled in reply. "You never know. Maybe I want to teach _you_."

That brought such an exuberant laugh from his father that his heart warmed and he felt safe. He felt that nothing could spoil their lives, now. He felt that nothing could change this wonderful bliss, no matter how hard the Fire Nation tried.

But they did try. Haru would never know who did it, but someone had reported that Tyro was an earthbender. Within hours of hearing it, they were at their door, demanding that Tyro come out and surrender.

Haru begged him not to. "Lie, say you're not one. Say that whoever it was was a fool, was mistaken."

But Tyro was set. "Denying that part of me is impossible," he said gruffly. "I'm an earthbender, and if they want to punish me for that, well, that's their choice."

"Tyro," his mother protested, "what about Haru?"

"Keep him hidden," was the reply. "Keep him safe."

And then he was gone. Haru didn't see it firsthand, but he had heard about it from others. Tyro had gone peacefully for a while, but once he was in the midst of the town, he had suddenly called out and demanded that the other earthbenders joined forces to rally against the soldiers. They were horribly outnumbered, but they never stopped fighting till the very end.

For weeks, Haru hide in the barn, spending hours shirking his chores and practising his earthbending. In the hidden seclusion of the small space, he could act as freely as he wanted, but at the same time, all he felt was smothered.

His mother never said a word, allowing him his indulgence, viewing it as a way of grieving, but it was more than that. He was afraid. He was afraid that if he didn't practise, he would lose his father even more than he already had. Earthbending was the only thing that he had left of Tyro now.

It made him almost crazy, his determination to practise. When he should have been helping his mother with the storefront, or taking care of the fields, he was holed up in the barn and practising. Only once did his mother say something, and it wasn't much of a reprimand.

"You have to be careful, Haru," she said softly, her form outlined in the doorway of the barn. "You have to make sure no one sees you. You know what could happen if they do."

He knew. He knew better than anyone. He knew because all he could picture in his mind's eye was his father, trapped miles and miles away on a metal ship, cut off from his bending, forced to work labour for a nation that treated him like a slave, like less than a human being.

All his father wanted was to keep Haru safe. It was why he had put up a fight, when he could have gone peacefully when they came for him. He had hoped that that one moment of bravery would have worked.

But Haru wished he hadn't fought. If it had meant his staying home, he wished that Tyro had done nothing to fight back. He wished he had denied his bending, and then he could have stayed home.

The thought spread like a fever. It made him crazy just thinking about it. If Tyro hadn't of fought back, he would still be there. He would still be Haru's dad, still be home to bend with his son or tease his wife or haggle with customers.

Soon, the confines of the barn became too much. He snuck out, moved to wider spaces, far away from prying eyes. There, he found solace in his gift, surrounded by his element, free from paranoia and that gut-wrenching fear.

In order to hide this, he suddenly became devout in his chores. He never missed a beat. He became his mother's right hand, and she was grateful for it.

"I'm so glad you're back at my side, Haru," she said once, smiling warmly. "I missed you."

He felt that snake of guilt writhe from his gut and up to his heart, constricting itself until he felt he could not breathe. But he couldn't quit. He had to keep bending. He had to keep close to his dad somehow.

One day, after he had finished his chores and run off again, he found a secluded trench buried deep into the ground. He eyed it hungrily, feeling the tug of the earth beneath his bare feet, and without another thought, he was there, surrounding himself with his heart's song, wishing his dad could see him now.

"Hello there!"

Haru froze, the blood leaving his face and sinking into his feet. He jerked around, and saw, to his dismay, that someone had seen him bending, and was calling over to him.

The blood suddenly came back into his head, roaring in his ears, so loudly that he didn't hear a word that the girl in blue said. He just turned and ran, using his bending to block him from view as he did so.

As he ran, he hoped that they would not follow. The last thing he wanted was to abandon his mother.

But then, he wondered: what would happen if he was captured, too?

The thought made him sick, because it made him yearn for it, if it meant seeing his dad again, for just a moment...


	25. Freedom's Stranger

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writer's Note: Originally written for Avatar_500 over on Livejournal, for the prompt "Mad". Contains spoilers for "The Boiling Rock" duet.

It was easy to go crazy in prison. Easier, still, when it seemed that the soldiers guarding you seemed to encourage it. They certainly seemed to encourage it for the others, so why would Suki think she was special?

And certainly, they tried. They found it amusing that she, the leader of a group of foreign warriors from the Earth Kingdom, had managed to get herself beaten and captured. They spared no moment mocking her because of it.

"Looks like you're far from home, huh, warrior girl?"

"Your little groupies aren't here to protect you, now."

"What a proud little specimen you are."

And so on. Suki eventually learned to tune them out. That irritated them, but to their credit, they never hurt her for her insolence - she was too valuable to injure. Azula hadn't spared her this, but the soldiers of Boiling Rock apparently were trained to.

In her single cell, she had tried to keep her body and mind fit. She moved through practised forms, swinging imaginary fans and swords, moved and ducked around imaginary enemies. But instead of keeping her energised and giving her purpose, she just felt tired. Dismayed. Disappointed that she hadn't been able to fight for herself and her Warriors.

When exercise failed, she tried meditating. While Kyoshi Island wasn't big on it, Suki and her Warriors had come across it in their travels and found it useful for their training. However, instead of being able to listen to her thoughts and let them go, she found herself dwelling on them, overanalysing them, trying to find answers where they never were.

Pretty soon, she found herself unable to get up from the cot. She found that all she wanted to do was just lie there and think about nothing. She didn't care about her body. She cared even less about her mind. She had no purpose here. She had no reason to fight.

She felt her sanity slipping away, replaced by dangerous and reckless apathy. When others came together and tried to plan their way out, Suki merely sat down in a corner and let herself droop like a wilted flower. She scorned these optimists, found their eagerness for brighter days loathsome.

Sometimes, deep in the night, Suki found herself thinking. Sleep made her vulnerable, and she found herself unable to brainwash herself from the folly of thought.

 _I wonder if anyone even knows I'm here._

 _I wonder if the Island has fallen yet._

 _Are the other girls okay?_

 _What about Sokka? Aang? Everyone else? Were they okay?_

 _I never thought I'd miss the taste of salted fish._

 _I wish I had found a way to smuggle in a hairbrush._

 _I would kill to see any other colour than a shade of red._

 _I miss you, Sokka… Do you miss me, too?_

Thoughts like these, these normal and innocent thoughts brought by melancholy, chipped away at her iron will and threatened to make her crumble.

Just like Azula had hoped. She had won.


	26. Old Horizon

Zuko was in a bad mood. "I don't see why you have to go so early," he sulked, his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes boring into Lu Ten's.

Lu Ten sighed. It was just like his cousin to get petulant over something beyond both of their control. "This isn't news," he answered calmly, though it was a struggle. "I've been training in the army for two years. Of course I would join my father eventually on the front."

Zuko's pout merely intensified. "I don't like it," he answered. Lu Ten wondered if what he really didn't like was a loss of an older playmate. "I think you should stay home. Just because you're a man doesn't mean you have to go to the Earth Kingdom. Some of the men serve on the local forces!"

His voice rose, but his lip wavered a little, betraying his anger as upset. Lu Ten leaned down and knelt before him, putting his hands on his shoulders. He wasn't much older than Zuko - almost a decade - but ever since he got his summons he felt ages older. Despite this age difference they had always played together, but now things were going to change, possibly forever, and predictably, Zuko didn't like it.

Lu Ten supposed it was because he didn't have many friends to begin with; Ozai kept his children in close quarters, although why, Lu Ten had yet to know. As such, Zuko didn't get much exposure to children his age. Even at school, which was the same private boys' academy the males of the Royal Family had gone to for centuries, Zuko remained aloof and awkward. Lu Ten wondered if he was the younger prince's only friend.

"Zuko, wouldn't you want to join your father if he summoned you?" Lu Ten asked, hoping to put things into perspective for him.

He regretted the words the instant they were out of his mouth, for Zuko's expression immediately darkened and he looked away, saying nothing. Lu Ten bit back the urge to sigh; everyone knew that despite being born first, Zuko was a disappointment to Prince Ozai, and that it was his second-born, Azula, that he was most proud. In saying what he said, Lu Ten had merely reminded his younger cousin of this.

Hastily, Lu Ten groped for the right words that would make amends. "Listen, I don't go for another day or so. Let's make the most of it instead of spending it sulking about it, okay?"

Zuko's eyes flicked over to him, looking mildly curious. "Make the most of it, how?" he wondered, his pout vanishing just a tiny bit.

Lu Ten smiled brightly. "I thought you would never ask."

* * *

"Woooow," Zuko's cry was more like a breathy sigh, but it carried in the breeze. "This is amazing!"

Lu Ten smiled, glad to hear the sulky quality of his voice gone - for the moment, anyway. They stood together precariously on the lip of a massive and long-dormant volcano, one that just hung on the outskirts of the Royal Capitol. While Lu Ten hadn't asked, he was sure that Zuko had never been there before, and his reaction to the view proved it. Stretched out before them was the ocean, the sun reflecting off of its serene surface like a dance of firelight.

Zuko turned to his cousin now, his eyes shining with a joy that Lu Ten hadn't seen since they were both very small. "How did you find this?"

Lu Ten smiled easily. "I was bored one day. I climbed up here, and here it is."

Which wasn't quite true; he had climbed up here, sure, but not out of boredom - it was from the need to get away.

Lu Ten despised politics. The intricate workings, the double-talk and constant need to watch himself and everything he did... it got overwhelming, to the point of threatening to smother him. This vantage point had been his sanctuary, so that he was far away to get away but still well able to see the Capitol and not forget his place in the world.

Knowing what he did about Zuko, he knew that his cousin would understand the peace of this place. While Zuko seemed to understand the layers upon layers of politics with relative ease, it was obvious that he still suffered the brunt of his father's displeasure. He hoped that in his absence, Zuko would have his own place to hide, to vent, to meditate and to cry, all without forgetting who he was.

"Thank you, Cousin Lu-Ten!" Zuko beamed at him, thrilled by this shared discovery. "This is wonderful!"

"Feel better?"

"Yes, thank you!"

After that, they stood in silence, enjoying the view. It would be their final moment alone together, just two cousins enjoying the view, forgetting for a moment their responsibilities for a moment of peace.


	27. Facets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writer's Note: Originally written for Avatar_500 over on Livejournal, for the prompt "stir".

There was something funny in the idea that something so powerful could be used for something so menial.

Katara thought about this as she moved her hand in slow circles, her fingers tugging and pulling on the soup below.

With a slow flick of her wrist, a slow trailing of her fingers over invisible patterns, she could stir a soup into a perfect mixture of thickness and flavour.

And yet, with that same wrist, she could snap it and a wave of ice and sleet could erupt from below her feet, exploding from nothing and cascading over everything.

By waving her arms over her head, she could draw the thick soup up and arc it perfectly into the air and into Appa's waiting and hungry mouth.

Or she could shift her body and hold her hand out, bending the other and sending a sharp whip of icy water towards her enemy and strike them to the ground.

Or she could go even further, and dart out into the battlefield with bright, glowing hands, ready to slide them over gaping wounds to stop the flow of blood as best she could.

Katara sighed, then inhaled the faint meaty smell of the soup. Sometimes she felt like she had ten roles to live all at once: Cook, substitute mother, healer, warrior…

And yet, as she watched the soup boil and bubble, she wondered: _Would I ever give up any of these things to be someone else?_

 _Would I still be me?_

Maybe. Maybe not.

But there was still some kind of peace in making plain old soup, a comfort in the ease of mediocrity. She decided then to just accept it for what it was, and let the soup be stirred beneath her hand.


	28. Muse

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writer's Note: A while back in July, I had to go to the hospital. A dear friend of mind, Secondlina, drew me a wonderful banner depicting Suki sitting rather peacefully with a butterfly upon her hand. It's taken me a while, but I've finally written the piece of fanfic to go with that painting. Enjoy!

 

There's a myth that's passed down from Warrior to Warrior, teacher to student, which explains the reasoning behind Kyoshi's choices for paint-colours. It's a secret that is kept amongst the Warriors, never leaking out – not even to other citizens of the Island.

Some Warriors said it was to keep Kyoshi's touch reputation unsullied, that if word got out how the paints originated, those who believed the rumours would seriously reconsider them – and, in turn, the ferocity of Kyoshi's Warriors.

Others merely suggested that the reason for secrecy was to keep something about their order private, now that the war was over and their borders were open again to all and anyone who wanted to trade.

Suki mused about this as she sat on the highest hill of Kyoshi, gazing at the houses below her. It was the best vantage point on the entire Island, one that Suki often sought when her duties got too strenuous to deal with. A soft breeze ruffled her hair and her tassels, and she sighed, closing her eyes and inhaling its sweet spring scents.

A fluttering noise brought her eyes open again, and she smiled.

There was another good reason for being up on the highest hill, after all. Suki sat up straighter, holding a hand out and stretching out her fingers slightly. The source of the fluttering touched down, and upon Suki's gloved finger perched a butterfly.

Suki smiled wider, her eyes taking in its gentle colouration and unique hues. On the upper parts of its wings was a patch of bright red, while the middle was contrasted with flawless bright white, tailed with a deep and forest green. Accenting these colours were hints of gold and black, complimenting the other colours without seeming too gaudy.

As Suki gazed at the butterfly with a warm heart, she thought back to that myth.

 _Once, when Kyoshi was sixteen and still struggling to accept being the Avatar, she ran off into the hills to avoid being stared at like a freak of nature. She had already felt that way_ before _the announcement was made, since she was so much taller and stronger than all of the other girls; needing extra ammunition for the insults was the last thing she needed._

 _She spent hours up in the hills. History would state that she was spending it meditating on her new future, communing with the past Avatars for their wisdom and becoming a stronger person for it._

 _But her heirs would know the truth._

 _Kyoshi was actually contemplating running away. While she had always thought that there was probably more to life than fishing and being under Chin's thumb, she hadn't realised that it meant far more than she would have dreamed._

 _She sat in the muddiest patch she could find, her face pulled into a sulk not usually seen on a sixteen-year-old girl's face, when a fluttering of wings distracted her, and she tore herself away from the gloom of her problems and looked up._

 _There, floating above her head, was a butterfly. Its bright colours distracted the Avatar, her green eyes fixed above her and constantly flicking around in order to keep the small insect in her gaze._

 _Wordlessly, soundlessly, she held up her hand, and without hesitation the butterfly landed upon her palm, its tiny feet tickling the calloused skin. As she stared at it, Kyoshi realised that, in that single moment, just how many people were depending on her, and how easy it was to forget that. Even this small butterfly in her hand in some way depended on her._

 _It was humbling. It made her accept. It made her understand._

 _She vowed never to forget that humility, no matter what she did or how great she became. To make sure she never forgot, she painted herself with the colours of that butterfly every single day to ensure that memory._

As Suki held the descendent of that butterfly in her hand, she, too, was reminded of that simple humility. While her job wasn't as great, she still had a duty to help as many people as she could – and not just on Kyoshi Island, but in the world.

It really was a simple and effective reminder.

As Suki moved to get back to her feet, the butterfly grabbed a headwind and threw itself back into the sky. Suki watched it fly away, the smile still upon her lips. When she couldn't see more than a small speck against the sky, she turned and went back to the village, ready to take whatever was there for her take.


	29. Chilled

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written as an exchange with SaraJayeChan, who wanted a nice Toko-friendship fic. To my dismay, I have only written one or two! This is so wrong! And thus, I am grateful that she requested this, so that I can correct that.
> 
> Spoiler Warning: Occurs post-series and contains spoiler

Pristine hills of blue-white sprawled before them, twinkling slightly like jewels under the noon sun. Beneath the ship, the waters were a deep blue - deeper than Zuko had ever remembered them being - and were occasionally dotted with random patches of ice. The faint burbling of the water and the occasional call of a native bird broke the silence.

Well, that, and the occasional sound of puking.

Zuko made a face, keeping his eyes firmly on the expanse before him, determined not to shiver out of his clothes. Really, a routine visit to the South Pole shouldn't of been this horrible, but it was the middle of winter and the chilled and cold air really seemed to snake under his skin, no matter how often he tried to stir his chi and keep his blood hot. He didn't remember the South being so crisply beautiful - and so unbearably cold.

"Ugh," a voice grunted at his side, breaking him out of his cold thoughts. "Are we there _yet_?"

He sighed. "I wish," he muttered, looking over at Toph, who stood piled in blankets beside him, looking more like a moving laundry basket rather than a fourteen-year-old girl. Apparently, he wasn't the only one who was feeling the cold. "Are you so cold that you're sick?"

"No," Toph grumbled, leaning close to his side. She had been doing that a lot lately, and when he asked, she admitted that she was trying to steal his heat. "Your stupid crew don't know how to steer without making it a big deal."

"Ah," he said mildly. He had noticed that, but he had blamed it on the icy detritus littering the water. He didn't think that perhaps the new recruits in charge of the ship were just that - new. But who was he to complain? He didn't want to make a fuss on this trip, especially since he had put it off for this long. _And for this very reason_ , he thought sourly, huddling deeper into his fur-lined robe.

Toph's addition to the trip was odd, but easily explained: she was in the area and she wanted to tag along. Ever since the war had ended, she had become even more of a nomad than Aang - and that was saying something. One never knew where she would turn up next, and Zuko always found himself surprised when she suddenly showed up in the Fire Nation.

He didn't mind, though. He was fond of Toph, despite her occasional penchant to whine. And when he offered to take her along, she had said, with a wide smile, "Finally, a _real_ field trip with you!" It had made him feel charmed and touched.

"We should be coming to the village soon." he added gently. "Hopefully then we can spend some time thawing out."

"You said it. How do those crazy idiots put up with this?"

Zuko had to smile. "Like I know. I don't even get how Aang has put up with it."

"It's been, what," Toph paused to think. "Almost a year since he started living there with Katara and Sokka? That's crazy. He's crazy. They're all crazy."

"So are we, for going willingly."

"I should have stayed behind with Mai," Toph concluded.

Zuko thought about Mai, about how she was more than likely curled up some place warm before a fire within the Palace, and he had to admit that he was jealous.

* * *

When the ship finally docked, it was to a village that Zuko had never seen before - at least not like this. The run-down, thread-bare place of only a few tents and a crooked wall and watchtower were long gone, replaced by solid and tall walls and an intricate tower that even had a flag. Within the walls were dozens of little houses made of pristine ice, looking solid and homey. Some were draped with animal skins, and some were reinforced with long poles of what Zuko guessed to be bone, but he wasn't sure.

"Does this mean I have to wear shoes?" Toph said suddenly.

"That, or be ready to lose your feet." Zuko couldn't help but say it sternly.

"No, I don't think that would be fun," she replied easily. "Being blind in every way possible would suck."

* * *

Katara met them at the dock, all smiles and hugs. Zuko accepted her hug with some shyness, while Toph squirmed and tried to kick at her. "It's so good to see you!" she said, sounding actually glad. For the second time that week, Zuko once more felt that touched gratefulness. "It's been too long. You got lazy, Zuko."

He blushed, but Toph rescued him. "Oh, are you kidding, Snow Queen?" she blurted out, her gloved hands thrown out in exasperation. "This place is an icy pit of misery, one that I'm glad I can't see properly! How do you stand it?"

"Well," Katara said easily, "I was born in it."

"Your whole family is nuts," was Toph's reply. She stomped past them without saying another word, making her way into the village proper.

Zuko and Katara watched in silence for a moment, sharing a wince when she stumbled a bit over an empty firepit. "It really has been too long, Zuko," Katara said. "I would have thought that you would remember to visit us once and a while. Or is being Firelord too _fancy_ for us commoners?"

He scowled. "What? Of course not! Do you have any idea how hectic this whole year has been?"

Katara stared at him pointedly. "Ye-es," she answered slowly, her eyes narrowed. "It's why you're here, isn't it?"

"You just love to get under my skin, don't you?"

"I may enjoy it a little," she replied, finally smiling again, which was a relief. "Come on - Dad and the others are waiting."

Together, they walked towards the centre of the village, Toph's uncertain figure staggering a bit before them. When she stumbled again and fell hard on her backside, uttering a curseword that would have made a sailor's ears burn, they shared a wince.

* * *

Within the tent, Toph once again burrowed close to Zuko. He decided to just accept it, no matter how weird it was.

Master Pakku Kanna, and Chief Hakoda sat together on one side of the fire, while Katara, Sokka, Aang, Zuko, and Toph sat on the other. While the tent was rather large and had a high-ceiling, it warmed up rather quickly with so many people sharing one space together.

Despite this, both Zuko and Toph were shivering, and under her breath, Toph grumbled once and a while.

"Now that you're here, Firelord Zuko," Pakku said, sounding rather formal, "we can finally address a concern we've had that's grown steadily over the years during wartime."

Zuko felt a shiver of apprehension, one that did nothing to help his cold. "What do you mean?"

Hakoda exchanged a look with Sokka, then one with Katara, before looking over at Pakku in a bemused sort of way. "Why do you make it sound so horrible?" he wondered, holding out a hand. "You've practically got him think we're planning a rebellion."

Pakku sniffed. "It _is_ an important manner."

Kanna scowled at him, and he blanched a little, but didn't take it back.

Sokka broke in. "Look, Zuko," he said casually - something that Zuko was grateful for. "You know all of those ships you have, ones that I'm sure have been kind of useless lately?"

He blinked, and beside him, Toph perked up a little. "Of course," he admitted. "But they're not useless - we use them for traveling and..." He felt his cheeks burn. "And for returning war prisoners..."

"Well, of course," Sokka replied easily. "But I'm sure you have a bunch of extras, right?"

Katara tilted her head; apparently this was news to her as well. "What are you getting at, Sokka? Just spit it out."

Hakoda broke in, looking as if he were struggling to keep this a formal affair. "Sokka and I were discussing ways for the Southern Tribe to branch out, now that we have waterbenders back here as well as us men." He paused, and when Zuko nodded, he continued. "Traveling to and from a place can take days, sometimes months, on foot or by canoe, and if we want to continue to grow in strength, we need the means to do so."

 _Ah,_ Zuko thought mildly. So _this_ was why the elders thought it was a delicate issue. If Zuko hadn't been informed first, anyone on the outside looking in would have suspected that the increase in numbers was a threat.

Zuko, however, wasn't of his father's generation, and saw it for what it was: a hope to grow and prosper, to not have to worry about dying out and losing their culture. And they wanted to do this without the fear of sending out the wrong message.

"So you want to use a few of our ships, see if you can find some places to settle, right?" he said, inwardly pleased by the idea. If the Fire Nation provided the means of settlement, then the Tribe's loyalty would never be questioned, nor would they be seen as a threat.

Hakoda sagged with relief, as did Pakku and Kanna. Sokka rolled his eyes, and Aang looked politely interested. "Yes, Firelord," Hakoda said with a smile. "That is absolutely what we would like."

"Wait," Toph broke in, sounding incredulous. "You want to _explore more_ of this icy wasteland? You really _are_ insane."

It _really_ would be undiplomatic to say so, but Zuko had to admit he agreed. Now that the world was safe - well, saf _e_ r _-_ the Tribe was free to explore the world if they wanted to.

Aang seemed to understand what Zuko was thinking, and said softly, "It's more like, they want to get back to their roots, you know? Explore what's around them before anything else, especially now that they can without fear."

It made sense to Zuko, but Toph merely snorted.

* * *

In the end, Zuko and Hakoda agreed upon a small number of small steel rigs - three - in order to see how they would fare in the cold and wet before asking for more. The Tribe wanted to start small, and Zuko was more than happy to make it happen for them.

Later, when the elders had left and the younger generation was left alone, he asked Sokka, "But who will you send?"

Sokka thought about it. "I don't know. Honestly, I was surprised when Dad even brought it up. We just got everyone back here, and were just getting used to things, and now this. It's weird."

Katara sighed. "It's not weird. It's because of me."

All eyes were on her now, and she blushed, looking irritated. "I mentioned that we were running out of room here, especially with the captured waterbenders back. When I mentioned it, he got this weird kind of faraway look in his eyes, and then he vanished. Not an hour later, he, Bato and Sokka huddled together, and when I asked to join, _Sokka_ shooed me away."

Both Katara and Aang shared a scowl at Sokka, who sighed. "Hey, don't blame me! I was just doing what I was told."

"Nobody asked you to get rid of me."

"You would have ruined it somehow."

Zuko rubbed the bridge of his nose with his fingers, and Toph snickered into her gloves.

"How? By adding an opinion, like how maybe exploring this close to the midnight sun is a bad idea?"

"Yes, like that."

"Uh, guys?" Aang broke in tentatively. "How about just seeing it for what it is?"

Both siblings stopped. "What do you mean?" Sokka asked.

Zuko met Aang's gaze, and the younger boy smiled. Surprised, Zuko raised his eyebrow; he would have never thought that the complexity of the situation would have been obvious to Aang. _But then, I've underestimated him way too many times. I really have to stop that_.

"Duh," Toph said, sounding bored. "Your dad and Zuko just guaranteed peace between your people. Why are you too stupid to see that?"

Katara and Sokka shared a look of bemusement, looking very much like their father in that one moment.

"By making this deal with the South," she went on, her eyes closed and her words muffled by her scarf, "Zuko and your dad are making sure that everyone behaves. Give, get, and glory. _Duh._ "

Aang nodded sagely, and Zuko had to admit that it was a rather appropriate - if blunt - way of wording it.

"Wow, Zuko," Katara said finally. "Who knew you were actually good at this?"

"Hey," Zuko made a face, "I've been in politics my whole life!"

"Yeah, but you weren't very good at it, were you?" Sokka replied.

Zuko glared at him. "Don't try to make me feel bad just because you missed the point."

"Nobody is trying to make anyone else feel bad," Aang cut in hastily. "This is a good thing, really."

A small silence fell over the group, each lost in their own thoughts about this. Zuko shivered, wishing the fire was bigger and the tent was smaller. Toph snuggled closer, her grumbles intensifying. It was weird, but it was nice to know that he wasn't crazy in feeling this affected by the cold. With Toph equally miserable, at least he knew he wasn't crazy or being difficult about it.

"So who _will_ go?" Sokka wondered suddenly.

"Not me," Toph snapped. "This place is cold enough for anyone who isn't insane. Going further south would be suicide."

Zuko nodded before he realised he was doing so. When the others looked at him, he blushed. "What? This place is _cold_."

"Wimp," Katara teased with a smile.

* * *

A few days later, the negotiations were finished, a contract was written and signed, and Zuko was on his way back to the capitol. Despite the initial wariness and confusion, Zuko and Hakoda fell to writing up the contract easily, both wanting things to be fair without being too generous on either side. Both were careful in wording the contract, and Zuko made sure there would be no loopholes in any way - for both sides. While the question of who would lead the expedition was left unanswered, Zuko had heard Sokka mention Suki and her Warriors - which oddly seemed to fit.

As Zuko leaned over the railing, his eyes were stuck on the shrinking image of the village he was leaving behind. Despite the cold that seemed stuck in his blood, he really did have a good time there. He had missed everyone, missed his friends, missed being able to just be himself for a while.

"So," Toph said suddenly, appearing at his side. It surprised him - she had been hiding below deck as soon as they left. "Same time next year?"

He gawked at her, tiny in her pile of blankets and robes. "You were miserable the whole time!" he accused.

"True," she admitted before smiling. "But it was handy having a firebender around, and it was pretty fun anyway. So, same time next year?"

"Sure," he replied, trying to sound annoyed. He knew he failed; his smile was wide on his face. "But no puking."


	30. Letter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Occurs near the end of Book Three: The Runaway and contains spoilers.

Using – at first – the waning sunlight, then the more generous light of a few candles, Katara sat in front of Toph and listened as the younger girl spoke out the draft of the letter she wanted to send.

"First of all, I want to tell them that I'm okay," Toph began, her fingers clenched together in a tangle before her, her brow furrowed. "The last thing I want is for them to see my name on something and think I'm dead or something."

"Right," Katara nodded, bending down and writing as she spoke. "Good idea."

"I also don't want them to think I hate them or something. I mean," and here she blushed, making a face, "I know I told _you_ I hated them, but it was only because you were bugging me and I actually think I meant you."

Katara looked up, her eyes narrowed. "Thanks," she said flatly.

"Okay, no, that came out wrong…" Toph rubbed her forehead and growled. "Whatever, just make sure they know I don't hate them."

Despite her irritation, Katara did so.

"Okay, read back what you have so far."

Katara held up the paper carefully, making sure not to smudge the drying ink. "'Dear Mom and Dad,'" she began. "'It's Toph. I'm writing you to let you know that I'm okay – at least physically – and that I'm safe. You don't have to worry about me. I also want you to know that, despite my actions, I don't hate you. I never have hated you.'"

Toph was silent for a moment, and Katara wondered if her words were so sweeping and emotional that it rendered the younger girl speechless with awe.

That was, until Toph spat out, " _That's_ what you wrote? _You can't send that!_ Katara, I would _never_ say it like that!" She threw up her hands in her sudden fury. "For starters, _I have so hated them!_ Not seriously, but when I was locked up once and a while! And what was that about being okay _physically_ , like there was some other way I _wasn't_ fine?"

"Because, Toph, if you _were_ fine, you wouldn't want to write this letter!" Katara broke in. "Obviously you're upset. That's not fine!"

"This is _my_ letter and we're doing this _my_ way!" was the reply. "Rip that up and start again!"

Toph didn't say a word until Katara started ripping the paper to shreds. Satisfied, Toph started once more.

"Okay, so copy what I'm saying _word-for-word_ this time. 'Hi, Mom, hi Dad. It's Toph. I just wanted to make sure you knew that I'm fine.'" She paused, sending a glare in Katara's direction. "You with me so far?"

She was. "Yes, Toph," she grumbled.

"Word-for-word?"

Katara scowled. "Just keep going!"

"Fine," Toph crossed her arms over her chest, her face dark. "'I don't want you to think I left because I hate you. I just hate what you were doing to me, hiding me and babying me. I'm not a weak little doll you can put away and occasionally dust and then put away again. I'm your kid.'"

Katara blinked as she wrote, surprised by the sudden metaphor and its eloquence. Absently, she wondered if Toph had been thinking about doing this for a while.

"Got that so far?" Toph wondered.

"Yes, go ahead."

"Okay." Toph took a deep breath, then went on, her voice much softer than before. "'I know you guys love me, and because of that, you got a little crazy about it. Yeah, I'm blind - but I'm not stupid. I can still _do stuff_.'" And here, her voice wobbled a little, and she paused.

Katara finished the sentence and looked up worriedly. "Want to stop?"

" _No_ ," was the angry answer. "Keep going. 'So I have to stay away for a while. I want to prove to you that I can be strong, and that I don't need babying. But also...'" She paused, sucked in a breath, then blurted it out. "'I'm also doing this for you guys. So you don't have to be afraid anymore. So you can be proud of me, and not have to worry about me anymore.'"

Katara's heart ached within her breast as she wrote, the characters a little wobbly as she struggled to keep her composure. The emotion in Toph's voice was real, so real that Katara could feel it deep within her. She wished that characters and words were better at conveying emotions like this, just to make sure that the emotion that Toph was displaying showed up even a _little_...

"Okay," Toph said softly. Katara looked up, and saw that she was wiping her eyes with her wrist angrily. "Read it back to me."

Katara did, unable to keep her own emotions from her voice. Toph listened, her eyes dark, her lips pressed together. Then she nodded. "Yeah, okay. I think that works. Just add one more line."

"What?"

"'I still love you guys. Don't ever forget.'"

Katara wrote it, then gently set the paper and brush aside. She moved to Toph's side, where the other girl was openly crying, and hugged her hard. Toph let her, sort of melting in the embrace, not quite returning it, but not denying it, either.

"It's a perfect letter," Katara whispered.

Toph nodded. It was all that needed to be said.

A half-hour later, after both girls were calm and the letter was rewritten and rolled up, Katara snuck over and grabbed Hawky, fastening the letter to his leg. When she whispered, "Earth Kingdom, the Bei Fong Residence," the bird perked, flapping his wings once. Katara held up her arm, and Hawky jumped into the sky, on his way.

"Hey," Sokka suddenly called out. "Has anyone seen Hawky?"

Toph smirked, and Katara blushed a little. "Don't worry," Toph said. "I'll tell him. It'll confuse him enough to leave it alone."

Nothing else was said about the letter - not for a long time.


	31. Ophelia Refuses to Drown

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writer's note: I needed to write something, something to get the feelings inside of me outside of me. I usually do this when I'm upset, or angry, which is why you see many fics along this vein. I don't make it a habit, but I do write according to my moods, and tonight? Tonight is not an exception.
> 
> Warning: Occurs post-series and contains spoilers.

_  
_When Ty Lee swore herself in as an official Kyoshi Warrior, three years after joining their ranks, it was as if she could hear the bonds that tied her to her family snap. Her mouth, carefully painted red, spoke the words with clarity and with all of her heart, and yet she fancied that in that moment, she could hear several of those bonds - already strained beyond measure - just _snick_ apart.

She had no regrets. She never did. When it came to following her heart, she usually held her head high, squared her shoulders, and kept her aura bright. She refused to let regret bog her down, because the past was done and regretting was only wishing to change that. She had learned long ago that there was no pleasing her family, but that afternoon, it was the first time that she realised that maybe, by swearing herself in as someone of the Earth Kingdom, she had done something beyond repair.

* * *

She received the letter a month later, three weeks after writing home and letting them know the news. Within the letter was a copy - written in cheap paper and pencil - of her family registry. Where her name connected to that of her parents and sister was a smudge and a line crossing it out. She was, officially, no longer a Fire Nation noblewoman. By becoming a Kyoshi Warrior, her family had stricken her from their family. Her history was no longer tied to theirs.

She sat on her bed, her hand to her mouth, the copy of the registry in her shaking hand. Her eyes filled and spilled over, but she didn't utter a sound. Carefully, she set the copy aside and read the letter. It was a simple, two-lined note, signed by her father:

"Ty Lee, due to your decision to align yourself with the Earth Kingdom, we have decided that you have chosen loyalty to them over us. The decision is final, and we wish you well, but you are no longer our daughter."

What a joke that was. _We wish you well_. What a horrible, mean-spirited joke. The fact that they were still somehow hoping for the old ways to return, waiting for the so-called loyal army of Ozai to rise up from the ashes and take back the Fire Nation and the world, was the real problem. It had nothing to do with the fact that she was now an Earth Kingdom woman, and everything to do with the fact that they were too blind to see their own folly.

With a bubble of anger, she moved to tear the letter to shreds, to tear that part of her out of herself for good, to never see her father's neat and precise characters for as long as she lived - but she stopped in mid-tear. They were her family, and even though they had decided she was not part of them, they would always be a part of her.

 _This isn't my fault_ , she thought, her jaw set, her tears still falling. _This isn't my fault._

And it wasn't, really; her family - at the very least, her parents - had chosen to disown her only because she was the only one who saw the reality of things. Only she saw how things really were, how they had been coated in lies and glossed with fear. They insisted on staying in their _ooku_ , insisted on being protected from the rest of the world and padded in silk and tapestries, all while keeping their eyes blind and their ears deaf to the torment that was reality.

It made her angry, this punishment. She struggled to get rid of the anger, since it hurt both her heart and her aura, but it swamped her, curling around her like a grey miasma. _I didn't do anything wrong! All I did was do the right thing - all I wanted was to be free, was to help people, was to forget the fact that I used to be a mindless slave with no thoughts of my own..._

But of course, mindless was what they had always wanted her to be. Mai and her shared that in common - it was one of the reasons why they were best friends. Mai knew what it was like to be controlled by your parents, only to later be controlled by Azula. She and Mai had both thought that by joining Azula, they were making their own choices, but instead they were merely trading in one leash for another.

 _This isn't my fault,_ she thought again, the paper crumpling in her hands, her eyes shut. _I won't let it be!_

Independence is the stain of any noble family. Anyone knew that _._ If you dared think for yourself, you were not only ruining yourself, but your family and your ancestors. Guilt was the noble's finest weapon, finer than any sword or staff or knife.

Ty Lee lowered her head and cried, her tears staining the letter and making the ink run together, ruining the perfect symmetry that proclaimed her worthless. She cried and cried, and when she was cried out, she lay on her bed, on her side, and kept her swollen eyes shut, the letter dropping from her fingers like a used tissue. She didn't sleep; she just lay there, focusing on her breath in a strange and lazy meditation.

 _Now, it's time to move on_ , she said to herself gently. _Now, it's time to be a Warrior._

 _  
_

* * *

 _  
_When one of the other Warriors came by to invite her for sparring, she was up and painted and smiling again. With a chipper voice, she agreed, jumping to her feet and following her new friend like a shadow. While the make-up could hide the evidence of her tears, her heart would always be bruised. But with time, those bruises would fade and heal, and she would still be a Warrior, still be who she _wanted_ to be. To her, it was worth losing her nobility - and her family. To her, it was worth it all. _  
_


	32. Sever

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writer's Note: Written for Avatar 500, under the prompt "cut". Contains spoilers for "The Avatar State".

In all of his years, Iroh would have never guessed that he would have to use a knife in this way - least of all the knife he gave to his beloved and neglected nephew in an attempt to give him courage.

He had been so careful - _so careful_ \- while in the public eye; he knew his brother's cunning better than anyone else in the world, and knew that he would look for any kind of slip to incriminate him. And so Iroh played the eccentric, the fool, the well-meaning former general who had lost most of his mind in the loss of his son.

Truths. But only half-truths. And even then, they shouldn't have been enough to damn him. No, all it took was his presence at the biggest failure the Fire Nation navy had seen in decades. Not his direct command, or his own orders. Just his simple _being there_.

Well, Ozai had finally found the means. He had found the perfect way to be rid of his troublesome brother as well as his only son.

They knelt side-by-side, official exiles together. From the corner of his eye, Iroh could see the torment and frustration on Zuko's face, see the yearning to change the unchangeable in a single moment. But it was Zuko who pulled the knife from beneath his shirt, and it was Zuko who unsheathed it and held it to the base of his phoenix tail.

Iroh remembered the fight over that. He had pleaded with Zuko to shave the rest of his head, to just let the hair grow back naturally, and that bald-headed phoenix tails weren't that fashionable anymore, and would just call more attention to him. But Zuko had fought him on it: _"If I can't wear my phoenix tail in some way, I'm just admitting my own defeat!"_

Zuko squeezed his eyes shut, clenching his teeth, before slicing the knife through that last remnant of his heritage. He held it in his hand, his eyes blank, before holding the knife out to Iroh. He took it, and made less work of it. For Iroh, the moment his niece had thrown fire at him, it was done – his exile was already complete.

Wordlessly, as if orchestrated, the two tossed the remains of their loyalty to the Fire Nation into the Earth Kingdom river, watching in silence as the rush of water took both topknot and phoenix tail away.

That part of their lives was done. There was no going back, now. Iroh was actually somewhat buoyed by this thought, for his first real speculation on realising this was, quite simply, _What will come next? What will it bring, and how will it change us?_

Deep down, Iroh hoped for good things. In this moment, it was all he could do.


	33. Helpful Advice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writer's Note: Written for Avatar500, for the prompt "Light".

All anyone saw was the glowing bright white that shone from the eyes and - in a master airbender's case - the tattoos. Anyone who saw the glow knew what it meant: that the Avatar was accessing information from their previous incarnations in order to previously inaccessible power.

That was all they _needed_ to see.

Once, though, Katara asked Aang about it. "I know what it means generally," she said, her chin on her hand, her eyes on Aang's, "but what happens when your eyes and tattoos start to glow?"

He started with the well-known explanation, but she cut him off. "No, I already know that. What do you _feel_? What do you _see_? Is it special? Do you pick and choose? Or is it just a flash of light with you, too?"

Aang hesitated, and Katara knew it wasn't her imagination that he went visibly paler than usual. "I... it just..."

She could see that he needed a bit of nudging. "Do you just abandon any thought and hope that the solution comes to mind? Or does it just pop into your head?"

He smiled uneasily. "Sorta..." he trailed off. How could he word it? How could it be worded in a way that made it sound far more mystical and interesting than it actually was?

She smiled. "So tell me!"

Aang tried, but ended up wording it badly, especially since, as he spoke, he grew frustrated. "Okay, so, in that moment, I look inward, I just sort of _reach_ \- and then it's like dozens of hands grab hold of me and drag me to a safe place. In that split second, that moment, it feels like _hours and hours_ , and most of the time I just want to ignore everything..." He looked up and blushed; Katara's head was tilted to the side in confusion.

He tried again. "The thing is, when I ask for help like that, I get it. Only I get it from _everyone_ , in one big audience of adults and sometimes kids who really want to help, but who don't want to _listen_. So it's like being in a room of politicians arguing with each other about something that they want solved, but are too excited to bother listening to themselves and others…"

Katara held up a hand. "Wait. So you're telling me that in that split second, that moment of light, you have to listen to a bunch of dead people tell you what _they think_ is the best solution? And you have to pick just one?"

He nodded, glad that she had worded it far better than he could.

She looked at him sympathetically. "No wonder you meditate so often. " She then blinked. "Hey, have you ever thought about telling them all to just shut up?"

He sighed. "Once, I did."

"And?"

"And then no one said anything. And I lost." He made a face. "'For my own good.'"

"Wow."

He nodded, looking queasy. "Don't tell anyone, okay?"


	34. Catching Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was bored today, and decided to write this. It popped into my head, fully-formed, and I couldn't resist. So, here it is - a Mai-Ty Lee friendship fic!
> 
> Warning: Occurs post-series and contains heavy spoilers for the finale

"Mai!"

The streak that suddenly dashed into Mai's arms was green and white and red and brown, but the face, despite its many layers of paint, was familiar - as was the happy voice that shouted her name. Mai hugged tight, unwilling to show - other than the hug - that she had missed her best friend in the several months that they had spent apart. Her official place as Zuko's Firelady was still taking some adjustment, and she found most of the meetings boring. When she heard that Suki planned to visit with Zuko to reestablish older treaties that they had formed together the year before, Mai was relieved that a familiar face would be showing up to ease the boredom.

She had, however, no idea that Ty Lee had risen in Suki's esteem, and that she was firmly placed as her new second-in-command, a title given to her when Suki's original holder of the title, Mikku or some such, decided to retire in Ba Sing Se. Seeing her here, without warning, was a real joy, a real treat - and she wondered if Zuko had known that, and hadn't told her for that very reason.

Ty Lee, who had been anticipating this visit ever since she had heard about it, was over the moon about it. Pulling away and holding Mai's hands in hers, she looked at her long-time friend with some wonder and awe; Mai stood tall, her hair expertly styled in the royal topknot, her gown and robes long and mixed with reds and golds. She looked more woman than teenager, and Ty Lee felt pride at knowing her, mixed with a sense of shyness - Mai wouldn't have changed too much, would she?

But Mai smiled, and she rolled her eyes. "Ugh, look at you, so bright. Why did you dress up like that, anyway? It's just Zuko and me."

Ty Lee grinned, giving Mai's hands - their nails still painted black, she saw - a squeeze. "I wanted to look fancy for you."

From behind her, Suki walked forward, bowing to Mai formally, then grinning, her own painted face alight with mirth. "I told her it wasn't necessary - I'm the only one who needed to be dressed up."

Mai shrugged one shoulder. "You two better stay apart, or else I won't be able to tell one from the other." She let go of Ty Lee's hands, but smiled and waved to them both, leading the way into the Palace proper.

Ty Lee scowled, moving to her side quickly. "That's not very nice, Mai!" she answered.

" _Firelady_ Mai."

"You're just Mai," was Ty Lee's answer. Mai looked at her from the corner of her eye, and to her surprise saw worry there. "You'll always just be Mai."

Mai nodded. "I know, Ty Lee. I was just joking. Try to take a joke. It's bad enough Zuko's too dense for my sense of humour."

Ty Lee instantly looked mollified and happy again. That worried Mai, and she wondered how often her friend wondered if Mai was no longer the same girl she grew up with. In many ways, she wasn't, and never would be again, but Mai found herself not minding the changes that had taken place. But at the same time, she was still the same person who loved Ty Lee for who she was, not who she could be or how she could be used. She loved Ty Lee's happiness, her easygoing mirth and her joy in everything. She loved her ability to be able to express everything she felt with no worry or shame, and she loved teasing the other girl into scowls and laughs.

Was it possible that Ty Lee thought otherwise? That now that she was Firelady, she no longer had time for her?

"So where is the Firelord today?" Suki wondered, breaking Mai from her worried reverie. "Sulking until the meeting?"

Mai smirked; Suki and Zuko had become close friends, and while most women would probably find it some kind of threat, she only found it amusing - especially since she had another person to tease Zuko mercilessly with. "You know it," she replied. "He hates these kinds of meetings, and only foresees doom from them."

"But it's just Suki and me," Ty Lee said, looking politely confused. "Does he really expect trouble just from the two of us?"

"From you two? No," Mai agreed. "But from his men and women, and possibly Kyoshi's mayor."

Suki and Ty Lee made a face. "Oyaji is just a big teddy bear," Ty Lee said. "I'm sure he's not so illogical to let Zuko's rather... _stupid_ past ruin things."

Suki's expression darkened, and instantly Ty Lee realised that she was wrong, and that Oyaji really _did_ plan on letting Zuko's past affect things. Oyaji had deigned not to come along, begging that he had things to do, but he hadn't let the two leave without providing a long and tightly-wrapped scroll, one that - without a doubt - had his misgivings and doubts written in very angry characters. Really, Oyaji had been rather kind to Ty Lee, even after learning that she was part of the reason why his best Warriors were beaten down and held in prison - and why one of them was probably injured for life - so hearing that he still held a grudge with Zuko was surprising.

Mai, however, was probably the most cynic of the two, and found no surprise at all. "It's politics," was all she said about it, her eyebrows raise into her bangs.

Ty Lee laughed. "Politics are so silly. I would much rather just spend time with real people."

And that made Mai laugh in turn.

* * *

When Suki went to drag Zuko from his sulk and into the thick of things, Mai and Ty Lee spent a nice afternoon both women had been invited to the goings-on, both had declined, seeing this as a rare opportunity to catch up with each other.

"How are you, Ty Lee?" Mai wondered, casually pouring her a mug of tea. Ty Lee blushed, embarrassed that she hadn't thought to pour the tea first, wondering if Mai would be insulted by this inadvertent insult. However, the older woman merely held out the mug to her with smiling eyes, and she took it, smiling back. Even though Mai was Firelady, now, it was obvious that she didn't expect anyone within her close circle to treat her as such.

"I'm fine," she replied, sipping the tea. It was delicious, and she idly thought about Iroh, and whether or not he was aware of the teamaker in his niece-in-law. "Kyoshi Island is really busy - it's actually surprising how busy it can be!"

Mai blinked, pouring herself a mugful and sipping it. "What do you mean? I thought it was just a tiny island in the middle of nowhere."

"Me too!" agreed Ty Lee. "But it turns out that with the borders open, the place is swarming with people. We Warriors never seem to get a break, especially when it comes to barfights." She made a face, trying to look wary when, really, she was thrilled - this was the most fun she had ever had in her entire life. "It's crazy."

Mai wasn't fooled. "You love it."

Ty Lee wiggled, her face a mask of pure joy. "I love it!" she agreed. "It's so much fun, and I really like the other Warriors - especially Suki! Did you know, she actually wasn't born on the Island? She's just like me!"

"Well, not _really_ ," Mai answered wryly. "But I see what you mean, yeah."

"And what about you, Mai?" Ty Lee wondered, her eyes wide. "How are things here?"

Mai opened her mouth to say something non-committal, something along the lines of, 'Well, you know...' or 'Boring, but whatever.' Instead she said, very softly, "Everything is familiar. I feel like I've hardly grown up."

"Huh?" Ty Lee lowered her mug from her red lips, her smile fading. "What do you mean?"

Mai inwardly groaned. "Nothing, nevermind."

"No," was the stern answer. "What do you mean, Mai?"

"I mean, that I'm surrounded by politics. It's not very different than when I was a kid, is all."

Ty Lee's eyes narrowed. "You're lying. That's part of it, but not all of it."

Mai raised an eyebrow. "What, did Toph teach you some earthbending?"

"Come on, Mai. I'm your friend. I've known you forever. What are you saying, really?"

Mai sipped her tea, her eyes hooded, before answering. "It's boring. I don't really like it. I can see right through all of Zuko's advisers, and Zuko can't see through them at all. And yet if I open my mouth to anyone but him I'm told that I don't know what I'm talking about or given dirty looks. And yet I _know_ what I'm talking about - perhaps more than Zuko does, since he was away for a few years."

Ty Lee sat quietly for a moment, thinking. Mai sipped her tea, trying not to let it show that her hands shook and that she was angry. She was angry that she felt this way, angry that her love for Zuko seemed to end up trapping her, angry that she was still told to sit still and be quiet at her age.

"But, Mai..." Ty Lee said, breaking her from her gloom. She looked up, and saw that Ty Lee was smiling again, a soft, indulgent smile. "You're the second most powerful woman in the world. You may be younger and maybe less experienced, but they really don't have a right to tell you to be quiet. You could just tell them to be quiet in turn. They would have to listen to you."

Now _there_ was an embarrassingly obvious observation. In all her life, Mai had never even _thought_ of talking back to her parents until she turned sixteen, a legal adult - and even then she sometimes had trouble. She kept her silence when Azula brought her along on the hunt for the Avatar, kept silent still when Zuko was clearly in turmoil about what to do with his life. The only time she had spoken up and _done_ something was on the Boiling Rock. Why was it that, all of a sudden, her tongue was frozen again?

"Oh," she said, her cheeks flaming in her embarrassment. It was so obvious that she felt stupid. She knew that Zuko would encourage her to speak up - did, even, to the point of telling the advisers off when they spoke against her. What _was_ she afraid of?

Ty Lee held her smile in place, the already wide expression seeming wider with her make-up. "It probably won't be easy, right? But at least it'll help."

"You're right," Mai said slowly. "You're really right. I feel so silly."

"I haven't heard you feeling silly since we were kids."

That brought a smile to Mai's face. "Speaking of which, can I ask you a question?"

"Of course, you can ask me anything."

"When we were kids, you always said you hated being at home, because of your sisters," Mai began, a little worried that she was treading into dangerous ground. The worry increased when Ty Lee's smile twitched a little. "And later, on Ember Island, you said you hated being part of a 'matched set'."

"So?" The smile was gone, her voice a little terse.

"So," Mai sighed. "Why are you a Kyoshi Warrior, Ty Lee? Isn't that just leaving one set for the other?"

Ty Lee's eyes narrowed, her grip tightening on her mug. "Why are you a politician, Mai? Aren't you just exchanging one gilded cage for another?"

That wasn't fair. "Zuko doesn't keep me in a cage," she snapped. "He doesn't tell me to shut up and look pretty for the sake of his career. Any issues I have are my own. And you're being mean to avoid answering me, and you know it."

Ty Lee looked away; it was true, after all. She knew how it looked. She knew it was strange, being one of many sisters with the same face, only to leave home and her nation forever to join a sect of warriors who dressed the same and painted themselves the same. Except... _it wasn't_. Warriors were encouraged to make her uniform her own; her hairstyle and headdress were symbols of her personality, and each Warrior wore hers differently. Each Warrior had a rank and a specialty. Each Warrior was _her own person_.

So she said as much. She told Mai this. She kept her eyes on her friend and her grip on her cup, watching as Mai sat with a stiff posture and a cool expression. As she spoke, the expression eased, and Ty Lee realised with some surprise that Mai had been worried about her for that very reason.

"Mai," she added, smiling again; she couldn't help it, "you were worried?"

Mai frowned, her cheeks pink. "You were so happy when you joined the circus. I didn't want you to get unhappy again. Shut up."

Ty Lee set her cup down and lunged across the table, throwing her arms around Mai and hugging her. Mai grumbled, but the warmth of her hug was real, and belied the grumbling.

"I'm happy," she said, sounding like she meant it.

"Well, so am I," Mai answered, finding that she meant it, too - for the most part. Once she started telling politicians to shut up, she would be for sure.

Ty Lee pulled away and, before Mai could protest, poured herself and Mai another cup of tea each. They sipped, then shared a smile.

"I missed this," Mai admitted. "It's been hard being alone here. I'm so used to being annoyed by you... and Azula, too, I guess."

Ty Lee's smile faded just a bit at the mention of Azula, but before Mai could apologise, she asked, "Have you spoken to her lately?"

"Zuko does, every week. I... don't."

"Why?"

Mai sighed, sipping her tea before answering. The hot liquid down her throat braced her. "She's not the same anymore. She's broken, and angry. She hates me, then loves me, then wants to kill me. I went once, alone, and never went back." She looked up. "What about you?"

Ty Lee nodded slowly, her eyes dark. "The same. I had thought... I thought it would be different with her and me. I guess I really hurt her. I guess I ruined everything."

"Reality checks are never nice," Mai said coldly. She was being mean, but some small part of her meant it. She was angry at Azula still, angry that the younger girl had so skillfully used her with no regrets and still expected loyalty when the truth was out. Still angry that she expected Mai to let Zuko die. Still angry for a lot of things...

"You're mad," Ty Lee said softly. "I'm not. I was never mad. I was just... sad. So sad. Everyone expects me to forget, and I guess I've tried, because she was bad and wrong and evil. But she wasn't - not always. She was, just like the two of us, raised in a really bad way."

Mai wasn't so sure. "You think it has everything to do with how she was raised?"

"Well, maybe not _everything_ ," Ty Lee allowed. "But you have to admit it probably didn't help. She used us because her dad used her. It's probably the only form of love she ever knew."

Mai stared at her, speechless. Ty Lee looked away, her face sad, her smile tiny. "I guess that's why I always tried to show her a different form of love. Probably too late, though."

"Maybe not too late," Mai replied, hoping she sounded optimistic - it was never her strong point.

Ty Lee shrugged one shoulder, and that seemed to drop the subject. It was a sensitive one, and Mai knew better than to get into any details that would cause more pain.

More tea was sipped, then poured, a small amiable silence falling over somber thoughts.

Then, desperate for a better mood, Mai said, "Remember when we were in school, and someone stole Azula's spare pair of underwear and made it into a flag?"

Ty Lee exploded into laughter, then gleefully went into the full account. The rest of the afternoon was shared this way, a mix of memories - old and new.


	35. Satisfaction

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writer's Note: Written for Avatar500, for the prompt "crack". Occurs during "Day of Black Sun, Part Two".

Iroh bided his time, waiting it all out. He heard footsteps, and inwardly he cursed; he had hoped that he wouldn't have to deal with any of the prison guards. He inwardly hoped that Ming had taken his advice and gone home.

However, when Warden Poon waltzed into the room with a smug look on his face, Iroh decided to reevaluate the situation.

The taunts were very boring, Iroh decided mildly, not even bothering to look at the other man when he began to speak. For someone who enjoyed taunting his prisoners, Poon didn't seem to have a knack for it.

In the middle of an unoriginal insult, Iroh felt the tug on his bending that he had been waiting for. Slowly, he looked up and saw the gradual darkening of the sky. With a fluttering in his gut that he hadn't felt in decades, he smiled slowly.

Poon noticed, and took this chance to direct his childish insults at this gesture. Iroh merely shook his head. Slowly, with deliberate grace, he rose to his feet.

Just like that, the insults stopped. Poon stared at Iroh, his eyes blazing and livid, his face twisted in an ugly scowl. He was so shocked by the mere act of Iroh standing up and meeting his gaze - and even more shocked by the sanity he found there.

With a small smile, Iroh directed his bending solely on the palms of his hands. They heated up slower than usual, but that didn't stop it from gradually blossoming into a hot blaze of fire.

Poon stepped back, not even thinking of his own bending.

Knowing that time was short, Iroh focused his entire will. With a short shout, he grabbed onto the bars before him and felt them resist, then smolder before finally give way.

Iroh felt that tugging feeling again, felt the heat cool slightly. His eyes stayed on Poon's, the grin growing wider and wider, almost hurting his cheeks. A growing sense of anticipation seemed to bloom within his breast, even amidst the choking and foul stench of burning iron.

With another curt shout, Iroh began to peel back the bars as if they were merely the skin upon a fruit. He felt his muscles, newly strong, protest at this sudden brute force, but he forced it, gradually managing to open a space just enough for him to slip sideways through.

Poon was staring, face pale, his eyes huge on his face. He skittered to his feet, seeming to remember his bending, and with something like terrified defiance, slid forward to use it.

But at that moment, the sunlight flickered and went out.

Poon didn't seem to understand until his fist thrust out and came up empty.

Iroh grinned wider, now showing teeth. He slowly walked forward, feeling a glowing sort of calm that comes with knowing victory.

When his fist, still hot from the flames, connected with the warden's jaw with a satisfying and delicious grating noise, Iroh was finally content.


	36. Murder, Of Course

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writer's Note: Written for Avatar500, for the prompt "knight". Spoilers for "The Boiling Rock" duet and after.

Chit Sang hadn't always followed a path to crime.

He was born to a Fire Nation private and a merchant. His dad had died when he was small. He never knew why until he was sixteen – the same time he found out why he had green eyes: his dad was from the Earth Kingdom and was an earthbender. They dragged him from his stall and he put up a fight, and they killed him to save the trouble.

Luckily for Chit Sang, he was a firebender like his mother. His green eyes always gave him trouble, but a quick jab to the jaw or a blast of flame always silenced the persecutors. It was in school that he got his early reputation for being someone to avoid. It became even worse when he started speaking up.

He wasn't much of a public speaker – in fact, he tended to stutter and speak slowly, his deep voice loud and a little grating – but when he spoke, his eyes seemed to spark, and people couldn't turn away. Usually he just talked about his father, about how – he was sure – his dad still would have fought for the Fire Nation if he had just been given the chance.

No one likes a loudmouth with logic, especially one who could get people to listen. He was thrown into jail.

But he wouldn't keep quiet. It drove the guards crazy. It was almost like being back in school again, being taunted for his obviously dubious parentage. At least this time he was being insulted for something he made for himself.

By the time he was in his thirties, he was in the Boiling Rock. It made him laugh inside, really. They were so afraid of his words that they sent him to the prison of murderers and gang members and war criminals. He wondered if he should have felt flattered.

Whenever asked about why he was there, he always answered with, "Murder, of course. What else?"

Eventually, the fires of righteousness dulled a little. His words only earned him misery. Only his girlfriend Lin and his best friend Pao would listen to him, but given the chance, he knew he would be the only one to stand.

Ironically, he was given his freedom by a bunch of kids, kids who seemed to live the way he wished he could: free, determined, and with passion. He couldn't help but admire them, want to help them – all while keeping his reputation.

When the time for escape came, and he fled with his fellow prisoner and three of the boys – one of them an earthbender – he wasn't sure what he would do.

But once, when things were calm, the earthbender – Haru – asked him, "So why were you in prison?"

He started to answer with the usual, but something stopped him. He wondered if, given the chance, he would have be fighting the fight with this group sooner – with his dad, even.

So he told the truth. It felt good.


	37. The Fire Nation of Planet Fire

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I recently had a Maiko Prompt Post over on LJ, so be warned - there are a lot of posts coming up that feature the two. This one is for Ixmythot, who requested an alternate genre. I picked sci-fi, since I'm a nerd and find it amusing (if any of you ever read my Shadow Raiders fics, well, you know why).
> 
> Warning: Contains some spoilers for the end of the series. Occurs post-series.

Zuko's grumble brought Mai up from reading her tablet. She looked up, keeping her face blank, and saw him pacing in front of her, his face looking as frustrated as his growl had sounded. "Zuko," she said evenly, giving him an opening.

"I've tried every single thing they want me to try!" he answered, proving her theory right. "I've opened the ports to allow trade on all sides of the planet. I've taken down the blockades of ships that prevent anyone from Earth or Water to land safely. Hell, I've even given everyone a green card to use our landing docks whenever they need to, and posted that everyone was welcome here, no matter what. Why isn't it enough yet?"

Mai's finger slowly moved over the face of her tablet, her eyes shining with the glow of it just a little. In silence, she brought up the windows that showed just what Zuko was saying, displayed on the internet for everyone of all planets to see. There were over fifty threads of comments on each post, and her eyebrows rose in surprise: most of the comments were really rather mean-spirited.

"I know Aang is doing is best, and I know how hard it is for him, not even having a home planet anymore, but really. _Really_. With the dissension so high, you'd think he would try to do more!" His voice rose and so did his hands, going right to his hair and tugging.

"Zuko," Mai broke in, "have you read these posts?"

Surprise clouded his features. He lowered his hands and looked over. "The bulletins, you mean?"

"Yes. Have you even read them?"

He reddened, and she sighed. "I just thought that Sokka would be able to handle them."

"Sokka's a good speaker, but his writing ... needs work." Mai tried to word it delicately, but her tone must have given something away. Zuko strode over and snatched the tablet away from her, his eyes wide and already blazing. His eyes raked over the characters quickly, and his grip on her tablet was so hard that she idly wondered if it would snap.

Each message said the same thing:

 _"Are you from Planet Earth (or Water)? Do you want to visit Planet Fire now that there is peace? Well, Firelord Zuko would like you to come on by! He's graciously invited you by dropping the borders and given you enough room to land, and he won't even shoot you! And if you see many armoured soldiers around, well, that's just business as usual! Come on down to the Fire Nation - where tempers are just as hot as the fire they bend!"_

He tossed the tablet away, and Mai easily caught it. Stomping, he strode over to the panel, his fingers hard on the buttons as he called up Sokka's destination. There was a pause, then the screen flashed and displayed Sokka's distracted looking face. Mai walked over and stood beside Zuko, placing a hand on his shoulder, noting with some amusement that Sokka was clearly avoiding making eye-contact with the Firelord.

"Sokka..." Zuko snarled through his teeth.

"Hi, Zuko!" was the reply, the smile as big and as fake as the tone. "I bet things are really busy for you right now! I can understand if you can't talk."

"I. Called. _You._ "

"Ah, so you did," Sokka replied, his voice getting higher and higher. Mai noted that clearly he was in the South Pole of his planet, his parka laced up to his chin and his breath coming out in clouds. She wondered why he was bothering to stay in the Pole at all now that the rest of his planet was free of Fire Nation occupation, but that was another discussion for another day.

" _Why. Did you. Write that. Message?"_

"Ah, well," Sokka finally looked at Zuko, and his face paled at seeing his friend's rage. "I wanted to make it seem like you guys had totally changed, you know? That it wasn't about invading and taking over and all that. Cheerful and lighthearted, you know?"

"You make me look like a fool!" Zuko snapped out, his hands holding onto the edge of the panel tight, as if trying to keep standing. "I'm trying to make everyone realise that they don't have to watch their skies anymore, that they don't have to worry about us invading anymore! Instead, you make it seem like I'm making fun of them!"

Sokka smiled easily. "Maybe you're taking it too seriously."

"Too seriously? _Too seriously?_ "

This was going nowhere fast. "Sokka," Mai broke in, squeezing Zuko's shoulder a bit. "What _were_ you thinking?"

Probably sensing an ally, Sokka now focussed on Mai, looking a little embarrassed. "That really was what I was thinking!" he said desperately, throwing one arm out. The other, no doubt, was holding the com.

"Can you please rewrite it?" Mai suggested. "You can write an apology, saying you were joking. I can send you some drafts, and you can add your own style without diverging too much. That way, it says what we want and it comes from a good source. Is that fair?"

Both men looked relieved by this. "Yeah," Sokka agreed. "Yeah, that sounds great, Mai."

"I'll send them to you in an hour."

"Don't add anything!" Zuko snarled out as a final word, before Sokka rolled his eyes and signed off, blushing a bit.

Just another day in the new peace.


	38. Grit and Gravel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for Avatar500, for the prompt "contest". It won third place. It takes place some point between The Western Air Temple and The Firebending Masters.

If there was anything Toph liked in the world more than travelling, it was a competition. Even better - an earthbending competition. It was one of the main reasons why she joined Earth Rumble - fun, challenging, and great for the ego.

But on the road - especially as fugitives - meant that there wasn't much time to enter into any fun tournaments. Toph's moods were plummeting because of the lack of exercising - and it didn't help that her feet were still tender from Zuko's idiotic bending.

So, Toph's solution was pretty simple: challenge the only other earthbender around.

"Let's fight," she said gruffly, already in stance. Haru blinked slowly, something she didn't see, but she could sense his confusion. Haru was definitely confused, and he had to mentally backtrack to make sure that he hadn't done anything to annoy Toph recently (he came up with nothing).

"But… why?" Haru stammered, slowly getting to his feet.

"Simple. I'm bored. I'm edgy. I have all of this energy and no one to spend it on. Don't be baby, I'm not going to _hurt_ you."

"Toph, give me some credit. I've seen you fight. You're going to hurt me." Haru said it flatly, his arms crossed over his chest, an eyebrow raised and a smirk on his lips.

Slowly, the milky eyes blinked in surprise. Then, a wide and twisted grin spread, and she leaned into her stance lower. "Yeah, you're probably right. Are you game?"

Haru smoothed his hair slowly, then dipped into his own stance, his smirk still firmly in place. "Absolutely."

Haru's style was something that Toph had never, in all of her years of fighting, encountered before. He was amateur, full of emotion, but at the same time, his moves were smooth and fluid. He was clearly taught by a master, albeit also an amateur, but his style was something he clearly invented as his own.

Toph felt admiration suddenly rise up in her chest. So many earthbenders were arrogant, drunk on their own power and eager to exploit it at any chance they got. While Toph had to admit that sometimes she did that, one of the first things she learned was the beauty of restraint.

Haru earthbent like he was born knowing that. And not only that, but he made it seem easy, effortless, like he was barely trying. He clearly had just as much love for bending as she did, so much that he seemed to live and breathe it just like she did.

And as they sparred, she found her admiration and affection for him growing. Her smile grew wider and wider as she deftly threw rock after rock, avoiding as much as she threw.

"Why are you grinning?"

"I think I like you, Superfine."

A pause. "That's good, right?"

She laughed. "It means I won't go easy on you."

"Ah. Very good then."

And so it went. It was the afternoon that Haru cemented his friendship with Toph – one that lasted years.


	39. Open the Box

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Writer's Note: Originally written for AvatarBigBang, we were given a challenge to pick one piece of fanart and then write a story about it. I chose Girl's Night by Suzukiblu, and this little story popped up in my head out of nowhere. I started going one place, then went into another place, and this is what came up. It occurs post-series and contains spoilers, alludes to Mai/Zuko (but not that much), and there are very tiny hints of Ty Lee/Azula.

Every so often, about once a month, Mai would dismiss everyone from the Palace. She wouldn't tell anyone why she did it, or for how long they had to be gone for until they were summoned back. Only Zuko knew why, and it was only because Mai told him.

Carrying a very plain-looking box in her arms, dressed in fine robes without being too fancy, Mai would walk with purpose to the secluded garden area within the Palace grounds.

Today, however, was going to be much different, despite the usual routine.

As usual, as she turned the corner, a flash of green, yellow, and brown streaked towards her and collided with her and hugged her so hard the box dug into her middle and hurt. "Mai! I'm so glad you came!"

Mai winced, but smiled. "You say that every time."

"And every time it's true!" Ty Lee replied, wearing a huge grin and letting the other woman go. She was without her make-up, but still wore the Kyoshi undergarments - the plain green robe and the gold threading. It always reminded Mai of being in Ba Sing Se, during simpler times.

"How is she today?" Mai wondered, following Ty Lee around the bend and towards a closely knit enclave of bushy trees. Seated beneath it was a small figure dressed in plain red, almost like the prison garb of the Boiling Rock, but of better care and better material. The figure knelt beside the small pond, motionless, almost like a statue - and was just as silent.

Ty Lee smiled gently, looking very proud. "Good. Apparently she hasn't attacked anyone at all for about a month. I think our visits are helping."

"However enforced, right?" Mai wondered dryly as they walked together towards Azula, who didn't even look their way. She knew that Azula had to have noticed them coming back to see her, and perhaps - a little - resented the fact that they were being ignored.

Ty Lee seemed to be able to tell. "You know, she could have said no. She could have fought us. She could have fought any of the guards. Instead, here she is. You know that, Mai."

Mai said nothing. It was true, and there was nothing else that could be said to contest it. Azula did come of her own free will, and she could have stayed in the asylum at any point - Mai and Ty Lee always made it clear that her release was optional.

But why was really yet to be seen. For the most part, each hour spent with her on these afternoons was spent in awkwardness, with Ty Lee constantly trying to break the silence with inane chatter while Azula sat with her eyes on the pond as if she were all alone. Mai felt the need to keep her silence as well; if Ty Lee couldn't bring words from her, then she certainly wouldn't be able to.

She knew she wasn't imagining it when she saw bright anger in those slightly-unfocused eyes, an emotion that only came to life when those eyes fell on Mai's. In many ways, Mai felt responsible for the state that Azula was in, now; clearly it was her betrayal, followed by Ty Lee's, that broke her like this (and she was positive that showing up in royal robes didn't help matters, either).

But then, some small part of her, the one that usually was in charge during these moments, still held onto the idea that a change would at some point happen. It had to – didn't it?

Together, the two women walked over to Azula. She didn't look up or say a word, but her body stiffened a little. Ty Lee closed the distance in no time, practically leaping over to Azula and sitting down behind her. Azula's eyes narrowed but she didn't move away.

Mai stopped a few feet away, holding the box to her. She clutched it close, unsure of what would happen when she said anything, let alone opened the box to show the princess the contents. Now was definitely not the right time.

As usual, Ty Lee was all chatter, her smile natural and only a little bit strained. "Azula, would you like me to brush your hair? I know they never do it right for you."

Silence. Azula's eyes moved upwards to Mai's, stayed there just for a moment, then looked down. With a small shrug of one shoulder, she murmured, "Do what you wish."

Mai's eyebrows went up. The voice wasn't cold and stiff like usual. Rather, it was small, soft – almost wavering in its tone. She wondered if there was any hidden meaning to it.

Ty Lee didn't seem to think so. She smiled brightly and pulled out a comb from one of her pockets, golden and wide-toothed, and carefully started to slide it through Azula's slightly matted black hair. Azula shut her eyes, swallowing hard, and with astonishment, Mai watched as those eyes opened and filled with tears – real tears.

In her surprise, Mai said, "Princess Azula?"

Ty Lee peered over Azula's shoulder and breathed sharply in surprise. "Did I pull too hard?" she asked sincerely.

"No," Azula snapped, sounding like herself. "You did it perfectly. That's the problem."

"There's a problem?" Mai wondered, taking a few steps closer.

"You know what the problem is!"

Ty Lee leaned back, and Mai had to keep herself very still to prevent wincing. Azula turned around, wrenching her hair free from Ty Lee's hands, her bright eyes flashing in fury, jumping from Mai to Ty Lee, then back again. They were still full, but her face was crumpled in anger – or so it appeared.

"Why are you being kind to me? What could you possibly gain from this? Nothing changes, nothing helps!" The tears slid free, and like a child, Azula used her clenched fists to wipe them away.

Ty Lee looked up at Mai, her expression almost helpless. Mai schooled her face to be blank, realising that Azula really had no idea just how much had changed in this small moment. Her showing tears, something that she had always viewed as a weakness, was immense. It was a big deal, especially since all previous visits had ended with Azula sitting there like a statue for the whole hour.

Silence hung over the three women like a heavy blanket, only to be broken every once and a while by Azula's sniffling and angry muttering. Then, Mai said flatly, "You sounded almost normal for a moment, there."

Ty Lee jerked sharply, looking at Mai with shock.

Azula turned to Mai, looking just as shocked. They stared at each other for a moment, before Azula suddenly turned back, her gaze on the pond once more. Ty Lee inhaled deeply, then picked up her comb and started brushing again.

For a moment, it seemed that the crisis was averted. Gingerly, Mai kept herself a few feet away, just in case – the box was expensive and she would rather avoid it being burned to ash.

"So," Ty Lee's voice was high, higher than normal but still cheerful, "what is new today?"

Mai was expecting the usual silence, but instead, Azula actually answered. As she spoke, her eyes filled again. "Nothing. I'm lonely. Miserable. They always talk to me like I'm a fool. I don't understand why you keep throwing me back in there, and yet if I were either of you, I would never let me loose."

"That's too bad," Mai spoke up, unable to resist. Azula looked up at her, and Mai raised a brow. "Zuko and I always talk about how we would rather you be free than locked up."

"Why?" Azula's voice was brittle, her eyes narrowing in suspicion. The minute gesture allowed a few tears to slide free. Both Mai and Azula ignored them.

"Because it's expensive to keep you locked up. We could use the money on other things."

Azula stared at her, still glaring. Ty Lee shot a sharp look up at Mai, who returned it blankly. Ty Lee had her way, and Mai had hers.

"Like what?" Azula asked, her voice sharper than one of Mai's stilettos. "What could you and my brother possibly want to use the money for?"

"This and that," Mai answered. "Don't you want to know what's in this box?"

She shook it gently, and she had to admit to some amusement when Azula's eyes widened and focussed on the box, as if seeing it for the first time.

Ty Lee sighed and looked away, now concentrating on braiding Azula's hair now that it was smooth. Mai knew what she was thinking, and in her own way resented it: didn't she want it to happen? Wasn't today as good a day as any? Mai had brought that box to every single meeting, and this was the first time she had mentioned it in Azula's presence – and the first time that Azula noticed it in turn.

"No," Azula answered.

"Liar." Mai strode over and sat down in front of her, sitting cross-legged and placing the box on her lap. Azula watched every move, her shoulders stiffening a little. "But then, you always lie."

"Mai," Ty Lee growled. She was probably irked that Azula was no longer relaxed, no longer showing signs of coming to some sort of emotional breakthrough. Mai understood, since emotion was always Ty Lee's domain with Azula. But Mai liked the curious Azula, the cunning and always on guard Azula. Seeing her like that again, without the haze of intense insanity, was sort of like … sort of like … old times.

Perhaps.

Azula couldn't take her gaze from the box. Mai fought the urge to smile. "Come on, guess. I know you want to."

To her delight, Azula actually smirked. "Since when have you known me as someone who guesses?"

"Never. That's why it's amusing."

"Your braid is done," Ty Lee broke in, leaning back and placing her hands on her knees as she knelt.

"Oh," Azula blinked slowly. She looked down at her hands, for a fearful moment, Mai wondered if she would suddenly lapse back into her silent statue mode.

Until, "Open the box."

Azula was looking up, her head still lowered but her eyes bright. Her whole face was a mixture of two emotions: curiosity and wariness. Clearly, she still had some mistrust – especially of Mai – but was willing to put it aside for the answer to the question of the box's contents.

Mai kept her face very blank. Truthfully, she was hoping that at some point soon, she would be able to open it. She just hadn't realised just how hard she had been hoping for it. In her own way, she had missed Azula, despite how unlikely she was to admit it.

Carefully, her eyes searched her former friend's face. She was thin, her lips showing evidence of being bitten several times over and over, her eyes shadowed by hooded lids and underscored by dark circles. The colour was still bright yellow, still as bright as the sun, but somewhat duller, darker, hinting at the emotional turmoil that lay within. Previously, those eyes had been glazed over with rage or buried grief, or simply closed, as if the outside was far too bright. But today, they were open. Today, they were focussed and bright.

"Okay," Mai answered. "I'll open it."

"Wait," Ty Lee blurted out. "Mai, as much as I would like to agree, I mean … do you think … isn't it too soon?"

"It's just a box," Azula broke in before Mai could answer. "It's not like I'm asking to be free."

"Oh, but you are." Mai really had to struggle to keep her voice flat now. "Did you not know that?"

Ty Lee's face flooded with fear, and Azula's with suspicion and confusion. Mai slowly and carefully opened the box and pulled out what was inside.

Robes. They were dark red, almost identical to Mai's – only with brighter hues and flashier reds. They showed her rank as a princess but nothing further – no hint that for a day she had been Firelord, no hint that she had almost ruled the Nation despite it being almost empty. They were understated but beautiful, eye-catching but without pomp.

Azula stared, her hands clenching together.

For months, Mai had been bringing this box to every single meeting, and for months it had stayed closed. Between her and Ty Lee they decided that if Azula ever showed the slightest inclination to being rehabilitated, then they would open the box and discharge her from the institution right on that day. But as the months went on there were no signs, and Ty Lee had – apparently – given up.

But Mai hadn't. She knew Azula, maybe a bit better than Ty Lee did. Mai knew that if they worked for it, they would get her attention. They would earn it. When it came to Azula, you had to earn whatever it was that she gave you. And this time, it was just that – her attention. Mai finally had Azula's attention.

"Made just for you," she said now. "They're probably too big, but you'll grow into them in no time. Rich palace food and all that."

"I don't understand."

"A lie," Mai replied easily. "You do understand."

Azula suddenly turned to Ty Lee, her expression once more sharp. "Did you know about this?"

Ty Lee nodded, but she still looked a little uneasy. "Yeah. I've known from the start. Why else would we come to see you?"

"You want something. You want me to do something. You want to butter me up, make me think things are normal, and then that's when you'll make me do something."

"Please," Mai sighed. "We could have done that in your darkest days."

Azula turned back to her, wearing a very strange expression on her face. It was as if she finally – just slightly – looked her own age, instead of a projected age that was far advanced than she actually was. She looked young. She looked scared. And most of all, she looked confused.

"I'm not ready," she said softly, lowering her gaze and clenching her teeth. It must have killed her to admit that, something that so obviously spoke of weakness.

"You're ready," Mai answered, tossing the robe to her. Azula caught it out of reflex. "Deal with it. The fact that you doubt it proves it."

Azula's hands clenched the fabric hard, but Mai wasn't worried. Ty Lee met her gaze, a small ghost of a real smile – not the fake, put on smiles of before – upon her face.

"The real question is," Mai continued, her voice hard. Azula looked up, listening closely. "The real question is, are you willing to be strong enough for it?"

Something kindled in those eyes at that moment: a distant, burning ember. Mai saw it, finally saw what she had been hoping to see, and finally, she smiled. When it came to strength, even now, Azula had it.


	40. Too Little, Too Late

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for Avatar500, for the prompt "jail". Takes place between the second and third books and contains spoilers

Just when he had thought he would never see its walls again, Long Feng found himself shackled and back within the prison of Ba Sing Se. They were just as rotted and pitted with age and decay as they had been the last time, only now they were worse - he was no longer treated as guest, but as an actual prisoner.

His insides writhed like eels, and he tasted the bitter flavour of humiliating defeat. It was one thing to be defeated by your betters - he knew the honour in that - but to be defeated by a foreign, frail-looking _teenager_? To have his men freeze behind him, lying in wait like viper-rats to see who would win the battle?

He had no choice but to surrender. He already knew that the battle was long past won.

Long Feng had already given so much to Ba Sing Se. He had worked his hands chapped for it, blinked away black spots of exhaustion for it, risked limb and sanity and life for it... and for what? To be betrayed by his own men? To be stabbed in the back by them, and stood on by a usurper?

He was jolted from his thoughts when the dinner tray slid underneath the door. He looked at it from the corner of his eye, almost afraid to register what he would see there.

Upon the tray was a heavy portion of white rice, shrimp, and miso soup - the same fare he had been gifted before.

He looked up, his mouth dry, and a hushed voice whispered, "Not everyone within the Dai Li is a fool, Sir. Bide your time. We'll find a way to get rid of the Fire Nation."

Long Feng was suspicious - he had to be, it was how he survived - but as the owner of the voice left down the hall, he picked up the miso soup gingerly, before gulping a generous gulp.

And then choking on it.

The dish clattered from his hands, spilling scalding soup upon him. But he felt nothing. Everything was already wrapped in unfeeling, merciless black.


	41. Alone Above

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Written for the LJ Community Avatar_500, for the prompt "sky".

Aang could control the four elements, the four that made the world what it was and what it always would be. When his eyes began to glow, everyone knew who he was, and everyone stopped in awe and surprise and, more often than not, fear. He knew what it meant to use that power - power that could only be used as a last resort - and knew what to do once that power was summoned. When he was like that, he ruled the moment. He was in control.

But the moments he loved best were upon the air, gliding with a boost from the hot thermals or within tumultuous winds. When the skies were void of any kind of breeze, he spent those moments creatively, bringing in his own winds that tickled the nose and brought relief to parched citizens below.

Within the air, he felt closest to his people, the thousands of Nomads that had been lost in moments of fire and ash. Sometimes, he felt tickles upon his own nose, felt as if it wasn't just Appa and Momo in the air with him - it almost felt that he was within the collective embrace of those he had lost forever.

During times like this, he would spend hours in the skies, his eyes closed and his heart warm and at peace. His smile was small upon his face, but it was real.


	42. Noble Rigths

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for the LJ Community Avatar_500, for the prompt "free".
> 
> Warning: Contains spoilers for the Boiling Rock duet.

At first, she was angry. "You can't keep me locked up in here, you know. I don't care what the princess says. You _can't_."

These were words she snarled, words that came out of her mouth as they shoved her into the cell, her new home. She had kept silent when they forced her to disarm herself, kept silent – although now seething – when they made her dress in the prisoner garb. But now, as they tossed her in with no regard to her person like a spare mattress in a dank and damp cell, the words came loose.

Her captors merely rolled their eyes, probably used to such words from their prisoners, finding it part of their job that was annoying but mandatory. She heard the key turn, heard the automatic lock slam in place, and she leapt to her feet and slammed her fists onto the worn wood, her control lost.

"You can't do this to me! I'm a _noblewoman!_ I was thinking about my _country!_ "

Her voice echoed off the hallway, now empty save for the sounds of footsteps, her voice, and faint chuckling. _They're laughing at me,_ she realised, bites of hot shame and fury spiking through her belly. _They think I'm an idiot._

As the hours turned to days, the days to weeks, and soon to months, Mai eventually found herself agreeing. She spent the days curled up on her mattress, her chin on her knees, her eyes closed and her eyebrows drawn together. As time wore away her anger, she thought, _What was I thinking? He wouldn't have died. He would have been fine. And now I'm stuck in here for nothing._

Did he even notice how much I gave up for him, the idiot?

Where is Ty Lee? I miss her. They better not hurt her…

The stew of her thoughts became thicker and thicker, and soon she barely noticed anything else around her save her own regret.

She lost all sense of time. Her cell lacked any window, so she was robbed of any means of counting the days. They let her out once every few days to wash the cell as well as allow her to bathe, but she was not granted fresh air like the common criminals were. Her once proud and confident spirit was worn down into something not like her, something confusing and pathetic. She knew it and hated it and yet could not fight back.

When the doors finally opened and she was told to go, she didn't move. When her uncle touched her head and said words to her, she didn't understand. Her eyes were on the now-open door, still fixed on the solid constant of it. When she was brought to her feet and her uncle finally met her gaze, she stared at him, as if not knowing who he was, although some part of her really did know him.

She said, "I did the right thing."

Her voice was hollow and cold, colder than steel. **  
**


	43. Reaching Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for the LJ Community Avatar_500, for the prompt "Empty".
> 
> Warning: Contains spoilers for the Book Two finale

 

Iroh looked down at his hands. They were resting limp upon his knees, dirty from the floor of the cell, from many days without washing. The fingers curled slightly in their rested state, as if holding an invisible peach upon each palm. They stuck out of torn and gritty robes that were probably as old as he was, robes that did nothing to block the chill of the stone all around him.

His hands had done so much throughout the course of his life. They had reached out for his mother, to demand gentle hugs or milk from her breast; they had clenched in fury when he didn't get what he wanted, both as a child and adult; they had called forth flames, sometimes tinged with blue; they had cupped the face of his beloved wife; they had held the small swaddled form of his forever gone Lu Ten.

They had reached out so many times to hug his nephew, to stroke his hair, sweaty with the heat of his weeping. He had brushed those tears away, given him a cup of tea. He had taught him firebending, reached out and corrected his stance and movements, carefully maneuvering with him in order to bring success. He had poultice Zuko's eye as it wept blood and pus and tears, cut away the dead skin, held him when he went into shock, dragged him back when he threatened to run away.

They remained at his sides when Zuko lashed out, when he rejected Iroh for trying to be kind. They reached out without his control when Zuko walked away, feeling a pain in his chest, worried that this would be the final time he would see Zuko's back.

They were large, creased, callused. They ached in wet weather, grew stiff after too much use, sometimes cracked along the seams when the air was too dry and the flames too hot. They were covered in blood in his military youth. They were covered in petals on the day of his wedding.

But now they held nothing. They were nothing. They were useless when it came to the final moment that mattered, that could have stopped the Avatar from being murdered. They were slow beneath the layer of crystal, the flames sluggish when he screamed at them to obey. He could no longer hold Zuko back. He could no longer keep him safe.

He stared at them. Empty and useless. Dirty and unkempt. And when the tears fell upon them, small circles of clean skin do nothing to erase his dread. **  
**


	44. Storytime

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was originally written for the LJ Community Avatar_500, for the prompt "Lost", but it exceeded the limit and I could not cut it down. So here it is.
> 
> Warning: Contains spoilers for The Southern Raiders

_Once upon a time..._

...there was a time without an Avatar. A time that was spent in confusion and chaos. A time that was spent in fear.

 _Once upon a time..._

...the Avatar faded from the collective memory, becoming a figure of myth told to children to entertain them while waiting for better days. Everyone knew that the Avatar was legend. Everyone knew that the Avatar was dead.

"...and when the people saw that Avatar Kyoshi was at their side, the will to fight ignited within their hearts and they stood up and helped her win." Kanna's voice was always so resonant with story-telling. Her age dropped away when she spoke.

"Wooow," Katara breathed out, her small face alight with her awe. "The Earth Kingdom warriors are really brave."

"Pfft," Sokka snorted, his arms crossed. He didn't like being away from the other boys for what he perceived as a stupid reason - mainly, that he was still too little for it. "They were wusses who didn't fight until some _girl_ nagged them into it."

"Sokka, she wasn't just some _girl,_ she was _the Avatar!"_ Katara snapped back.

"She probably didn't even exist anyway! Everyone knows that the Avatar isn't real!"

"Sokka," Kanna broke in, sounding stern. "The Avatar may not be real now, but she - and he, at some points - used to be."

That seemed to quiet him, but only for a moment. "Well, then where is _he_ now?" he answered, refusing to acknowledge that the Avatar may in fact be female.

"Stupid," Katara scoffed. "The Avatar is probably just waiting for when the time is right to appear again!"

"Oh, and when is the right time, when the Fire Nation _kills everyone_?"

" _Sokka!_ " Kanna snapped. She rarely raised her voice to her two granchildren, but he had gone too far this time, especially when she realised that he had gone too far even for him; his voice had cracked at the end, and his face darkened with anger and sadness. Katara's face fell, and she looked away, dangerously close to tears.

There was a small silence before Katara spoke again, her voice tight. "You're so _stupid_ , Sokka. Don't you ever get _anything?_ " She rose to her feet and ran from the tent, a hand already to her face.

Sokka sat for a moment, his cheeks red, his glare directed at his knees. Kanna kept quiet for another moment, wanting her grandson's actions to sink in deep enough for him to realise just what he did.

 _"Fine,"_ he said finally. "Maybe I _don't_ get it. What am I supposed to even _get_?"

Kanna couldn't help but take pity on him, now. "The stories we tell about the Avatar," she said softly, placing a hand gently on the top of his head. He made a face, but didn't move. "They're not just to kill time during the long winter nights. Especially after what happened a few months ago..." He eyes darkened, and Sokka looked up at her, for the first time seeing pain on his grandmother's face. "We tell these stories to bring us hope."

"Hope," Sokka echoed, his eyes dark. "How can there be hope, Gran-Gran? The Fire Nation is going to win."

"Yes, I imagine that if everyone spoke and thought that way, they _will_ win," she chided gently, giving his head a light nudge. The gesture brought a tiny smile to his lips, which brought one to hers. Sokka was always the cynic of the two siblings, always the one who found dreaming hard and reality harder. Out of the two, he was the one she worried about the most.

"They may be stories, grandson," she continued, cupping his face into her hands and staring right into his eyes. "But they are also _history_ , not myth. Keep that deep in your heart, and you will find things easier to bear."

For a moment, Sokka looked as if he wanted to answer derisively, so that he could dismiss her words and laugh them off. But then his eyes wavered, just a bit, and he nodded against her hands. "Yeah," he murmured. "You're right, Gran-Gran."

She released him and smiled. "Now go find your sister and apologise," she commanded. _Now_ he made a face, rolling his eyes and getting to his feet with a groan. He trudged out of the tent, and Kanna sat with her hands folded in her lap, her eyes on the closed flaps.

 _Once upon a time…_

…the Avatar would be found in the middle of nowhere, by two children whose hearts needed him the most.


	45. Bad Idea

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for Angel, who wanted Sukka/Toph shenanigans! It occurs post series, but only has tiny spoilers.

"I know I said this, but this is probably a bad idea."

Suki snorted. "Since when are you the pessimist? And besides, of course it's a good idea - it's _mine_."

They were hiding behind a wall, quite a distance away from Iroh's teashop. They were waiting, their eyes trained on the front door.

"This probably won't even _work_ ," Sokka went on. "And these stupid shoes hurt my feet!"

Suki rolled her eyes, though she had to privately admit that the thick, heavy wooden shoes were hurting her feet, too. "Just shush. Look! There she is! Shut up!"

He opened his mouth to protest, but she covered it, promptly shutting him up. Together with held breaths, they watched as Toph waved to Iroh and strutted out of the teashop, a wide grin on her face. In the other hand she held a paper bag stuffed with dough fritters.

As they watched, she walked towards them while whistling a tune - one that they both recognised as a very dirty and extremely offensive bar song. Both had to swallow their laughter.

The moment she was merely steps away, the two of them jumped out and started to shriek out, "GOTCHA!" However, before they were even able to get the word out, they found themselves on their asses, the stone ground beneath their feet shifted in order to trip them.

"How did you know?" Sokka demanded, sounding extremely offended. "We were wearing wooden shoes!"

Toph blew her bangs out of her face, grinning. "Guys, I'm _blind_ , she snorted. "But I'm not _deaf._ "

" _Told_ you it was a bad idea," Sokka sulked. Suki flicked his nose in reply. It probably was, but it was still pretty damned funny.


	46. Misguided

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for Marikunin, who wanted something with an Avatar and animals.

 

Every Avatar before her seemed to show some sort of affinity for animal guides. The more she studied, the more Kyoshi realised that it seemed to be some sort of requirement for being the Avatar; without an animal guide, the Avatar seemed incomplete, as if part of them was missing.

But Kyoshi couldn't even think of such an idea for too long. For her, it wasn't possible for her to have an animal partner. She had already had one.

When she was younger, just into her teens, she had found a small infant cat-bird, one barely out of its baby feathers. She looked up and saw that there was a nest overhead, but from the looks of it, the mother and the remaining kits had already dismissed the fallen one as dead. Kyoshi scooped up the kit in her shirt and took it home.

Her father was surprised to see his only daughter come home with an animal in her hands. She hadn't shown much of a nurturing side before, but when he started to ask, her eyes filled with tears, and she snarled, "It's not dead yet!" He nodded, and watched as his dirt-covered tomboy carefully made a cradle of discarded rags within a small wooden box.

For weeks, the box was Kyoshi's prayer altar. She would crouch beside it, sometimes feeding the kit some warmed milk, other times holding it close while she changed the soiled bedding. For weeks she kept this vigil, until one day she looked into the box and found it empty. Panicked, she ran around looking for her kit, only to look up by chance and find it chirping meekly from one of the rafters overhead, looking terrified that it had managed to fly.

"Looks like your kit has become a cat-bird," her father said wryly, as Kyoshi danced in circles beneath it trying to lure it down.

She named the kit Pancake, after the only solid food that it - she - would eat. Pretty soon, the young cat-bird became quite at home within the small house, sleeping in Kyoshi's room while perched upon her bed's headboard, or joining her on her daily excursions into caves and abandoned mines, perched upon her shoulder with her sharp paw-claws.

For almost a year they were always together, Kyoshi and Pancake, Pancake and Kyoshi. It didn't take long for the locals of the village to get used to this strange site of girl and cat-bird.

But one day, Pancake suddenly jumped from her shoulder and leapt into the sky. With panic, Kyoshi reached out to grab her, but her hands were too slow. She caught sight of another cat-bird, with brighter colouring, and with a duet of purrs and meowing, the two birds flew off and out of sight.

It broke Kyoshi's heart.

"She was always wild," her father told her softly, as she wept within his arms. "She stayed for a bit, but her home was out there."

After that, she could never give her heart to another animal, and for a while she had trouble giving her heart to another person. How could she, when other hearts seemed so fickle when it came to her love?

She was the only Avatar in noted history to live her life without an animal partner.


	47. Inappropriate Origami

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, again! Sorry for the silence; I was really sick and didn't have the drive to write. I hope it's over now! Here's a story! This was written for Jade Mushroom on Livejournal, although I may have twisted an innocent prompt into something rather silly.
> 
> Warning: Takes place between "The Western Air Temple" and "The Boiling Rock 1&2" and contains spoilers.

It was one of those moments in their adventures that there was an actual break between chaos. The Western Air Temple was quiet, save a few rumblings of earthbending and sword-practice, or the occasional bending-spar between mixed pairs. At this point of the day - or more accurately, night - things were so quiet that Zuko found himself unable to sleep. Instead, he snuck out of his cell and went to the fountain, desperate for some fresh air and maybe a cold drink.

It was confusing, being around people who, only months ago, were your sworn enemies. Aang had taken to him quickly enough - something of which he was eternally grateful and also rather touched by - and Toph was also one of the few who seemed to consider him a non-threat. Katara was a whole other issue that made him wince just thinking about, so he chose not to.

And then there was Sokka.

At times, it felt like Sokka actually didn't really like Zuko. In between suspicious looks and somewhat pointed comments, Sokka also had the tendency to direct his rather sharp sarcasm at Zuko - with little to no mercy.

But lately, following one of those barbs, there was a certain gleam in the other boy's eyes that made Zuko think that maybe, just maybe, it really was all in good fun.

Hopefully.

He was thinking this and washing his face with cool water when a sudden rustling sound startled him. His hands were alight before he even thought of it, and with narrowed eyes and held breath he listened, trying to pinpoint the source and direction from which it was coming.

When he heard a familiar voice cursing, then snorting out a hushed laugh, Zuko's hands cooled instantly, and the waves of adrenaline calmed gradually. Scratching at his head, he followed the sounds, and stumbled upon a small, dusty room, one that was full of frayed and moth-eaten stacks of paper shoved into a wall-covering unit of cubbyholes. Sitting at the modest and chipped desk was Sokka, the surface covered in multicoloured pieces of folded paper. Sokka started when Zuko walked in, then he went scarlet, his hands crumpling the paper in his hands.

Zuko honestly didn't get the sudden embarrassment. That is, until he actually _looked_ at the shapes that Sokka had chosen. And it was then that Zuko's own face felt as if it were on fire.

"Sokka," he blurted out, " _really?_ "

Sokka let out a nervous laugh and hunched over. "I was planning on hiding them around, in order to freak out everyone. You know ... make them think the nuns were perverts."

Which, Zuko thought, would actually work, considering that the various paper-shapes were various sizes of what looked like rather sharp-edged phallus-shaped origami ornaments.

Zuko just stood there in silence however, absolutely unsure of what to say to this.

"It's just a joke!" Sokka went on, as if desperate to fill the silence. He laughed nervously, as if to make a point. "You know, to lighten everyone's mood?"

Zuko walked closer as he said this, still blushing. "Sokka, how do you even know how to make these?"

Sokka looked away, keeping mum about _that_.

The older boy sighed. "How, exactly, were you going to do this?"

Sokka looked back, grinning. The grin lit up his face, seemingly erasing the previous embarrassment. "I was mostly going to plant them in Aang's and Katara's rooms. I thought about Toph, but knowing her..." He grimaced.

Zuko only had to think on it for a moment in order to understand what Sokka meant, and he laughed lightly at the thought of it.  
Sokka blinked up at him, surprised. Zuko blinked back. "What?"

"I don't think I've _ever_ heard you laugh before."

Zuko felt a flash of embarrassment. "So?"

"So, it's actually not a bad sound," was Sokka's easy reply. "Maybe you should do it more often, instead of brooding around."

Zuko suddenly felt a deeper blush spread over his face and neck, but Sokka either didn't notice or just pretended not to notice. He grinned wider and held up a handful of shapes. "Want to help me place them around?"

Zuko considered. While he wasn't thrilled about the subject matter, he also knew what this really was: a chance to finally solidify his new place in the group.

"Sure," he shrugged, picking up a handful. "Believe it or not, I can be pretty quiet if I choose to be."

Sokka snorted. "Prove it."

And he did. Within the hour, all of them were place. It was only in the morning, when various shouts of confusion filled the chill morning air, did he realise that not only had it worked, but it was actually great fun.


	48. Calm Waters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for Avatar-500, for the prompt "Lake". It's not the best writing, but there was a deadline, so it's the best I could do in a half-hour, lol.

Kuruk was blessed. He thinks about it now, as he gazes into the waters he sits next to, curled up in furs and gazing into the mirror-like depths.

He was gifted at waterbending, at a very young age. His Tribe was prosperous, celebrating virtuous years of peace as prosperity. When he was sixteen, he trained to be the Avatar, finding it challenging but not something to get torn up about inside, like many of the Avatars before and after him. He had even found his true love, a beautiful woman from another Tribe, named Ummi, whom he planned to marry.

It was only when he humiliated the demon-spirit Koh that his life changed.

It had been what seemed to be an easy mission. In the Fire Nation, many people had been attacked - and killed - by a demon that took faces and left the bodies of those taken to die. Kuruk, in his youthful naiveté, charged in and banished Koh to the Spirit World.

But not before Koh reached out and stole Ummi's face.

He had held Ummi to his breast as she died. It usually didn't take long once the face was stolen. Without a face, one could not speak, see, or breathe. The victims suffocated to death.

Her last moments consisted of writhing and digging her fingers deep into his chest, fighting to breathe and losing. He whispered to her over and over that he loved her, and would avenge her. Or would die trying.

He hadn't stayed for the burial. He was in the Spirit World before her body was cold, desperate to hunt down Koh and take Ummi's face - and life - back.

And now he sits, still there, feeling his ties to the living world severing as his body dies over there. The furs that are wrapped around him are those wrapped around his death-like body there. The water he sits beside is the water close to the place where Koh haunted last. If he looks close enough, he can sometimes see Ummi's face, forever young, forever outside of his reach.

When his body dies, he feels it. His life flashes before his eyes, showing his laziness, his carelessness. His foolishness, his mistakes.

Slowly, he gets to his feet. Decades without Ummi has wiped his face clean of any emotion. Now, with his death, he's ready to fight. _  
_


	49. Motherhood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Writer's Note: It's a common complaint that Jun's shirshu magically changes sexes and gains a name by the second meeting in the series. While rewatching "Bato of the Water Tribe", this fic, accompanied with a memory of a picture of dear Jun holding a baby shirshu, and this is the result.

**Motherhood**

There was no use. He was long, long gone.

Jun's bright red lips twisted into a snarl. The forest around her was darkening into night, and her body still ached from the previous battle and getting a dose of her own medicine as well. Her legs still felt like two pieces of lead.

"Dammit," she growled. She turned on her stiletto heel and stormed from the forest. She knew, deep in her heart, that her beat was long, long gone, driven insane by the assault of perfumes on his senses. Though she hadn't ever seen it first hand, she knew that such a thing was possible. It hadn't stopped her from capturing and breaking the beast for her own gains.

And now she regretted it. She stomped through the forest, both out of anger and desire to scare away anything watching her. She not only regretted the loss – her bounty hunting was going to go massively down, and she needed that money – but she regretted her methods as well. If a beast runs from its master at its first chance, the master was a bad one.

Jun never really thought of it before, but it was now obvious that she had been a horrible master. The whip at her hip had usually been used on people before she started using on her shirshu. She had only started using it because it was all he would obey. And he never liked to obey.

Now, it was obvious why.

She kicked her way into the tavern, furious that she not only lost her beast, but never got paid for the job that mad her lose the beast to begin with.

She beat up a few of the beefcake guys. It felt wonderful. As usual, her small but compact body was an easy target, one that idiots tried to destroy, but one that was far stronger than it looked. This tavern was one she frequented quit a bit, so the men she fought knew when to give up before being too badly beaten. When she sat down and got showered in bronzes, her spirits lifted and she bought drinks for herself and the guys she muscled.

One guy, a large man in white with a red sash tied over his forehead, sat down with her. He was a personal favourite of hers, one that loved to arm wrestle with her, despite losing every single time – even once when she was so drunk she was giggling the whole time. Maybe it had distracted him into losing, but it counted. They had agreed on that later.

"Ryuu," Jun said, sipping her plum wine. She waved a hand, and he leaned his elbow on the table, hand out and open. She grabbed it, sipping with her other hand. Their eyes met, and the arm wrestle began.

A crowd as usual circled around them, but they ignored it. Jun grinned at Ryuu, who grinned back, his face twitching a little as he tried to win.

"Bad day, Jun?"

"Lost my ride, Ryuu."

"Shit, Jun. Just, shit."

She managed a smile. His tone was hilarious to her for some reason, both tight and sympathetic. It was kinda silly.

She won. Another bronze hail fell on them, bringing wincing from them both. Again her heart felt better, and she sipped her wine slowly, hugging the coins close.

"You know," Ryuu grumbled, rubbing his forearm dejectedly. Jun watched from the corner of her eye, wondering why she bested him when she was clearly at her stamina's end, and he was not.

"Probably," she agreed, smiling. "But go on."

"I heard a rumour about someone on the market grabbing hold of a kit or two of a certain beast you seem to like."

Jun eyed him silently. She did like the shirshu species, it was true. She always had. When she was old enough to finally realise that the world was rotten and the only way to cope was to try and clean as you can to stay clean yourself, she also saw a world full of amazing animals. Even for the stupidest looking animal, there was purpose for each, and she liked that. She liked how animals could be so different from humans.

The shirshu caught her attention by accident. Her first meeting was the one that had her leaving with one: one that was also hosted by the market. The previous owner looked her over and said flatly that she had no idea what she was getting into. Already she knew she would be leaving with that beast. She just needed to know how to live with him.

And she had, for a while. Not nearly as long as she had liked. It seemed that just as she was getting close, so very close, to understanding him, the damned exiled prince and his perverted uncle ruined everything.

If she ever saw them again, she would get her payment. Double.

She knew that shirshu were rare, and were nearly impossible to find in the wild. She was the only one she knew that actually learnt how to ride and command one, let alone even own one. She learnt slowly how he worked, and once she did, they felt like an unstoppable team. And it was thanks to him that she was as rich and sought out as she was.

And now he was gone, lost in a forest and insane. Because of her.

And yet...

"How many?" she asked calmly.

"Last I heard, two. One of each sex."

Jun considered again. Maybe the problem was less to do with her skill and more based on temperament due to the sex of the beast. It was a very flimsy thought, and she knew it was based on zero proof, but it made her feel better anyway.

"Oh, but you should know, I guess," Ryuu added. "They're just pups."

Jun set her cup down slowly, raising her head. "Pups?"

"Yeah. Babies. Sprogs. Grubs. Runts. Whelps."

"Shut up, Ryuu, I know what the word means," she snapped. "I mean, they're young?"

"So little, you can carry one."

Her black eyes glittered. "Take me there, now."

He did. Then he left her there. She barely noticed, but in the back of her mind she suddenly remembered that Ryuu loathed the black market, thanks to a bad sale he would never share. It was fine, because she probably would have ignored him anyway.

Before her, nestled in a high-barred, open-top cage, lay two small creatures, looking like slippery mole-worms. They looked very much like an adult version, only their builds were more mole than steed, all roundness and stumbling. She stared, her hands going to her chest in a gesture she hadn't used since she was very young.

"Two for five hundred, or one for three." The saleswoman was a large woman herself, made of both thick muscle and a layer of padding. She wore it well, though, and she moved like a woman half her size. Jun could easily imagine this giant woman stealing these pups.

Jun then eyed the pups. One was sleeping heavily, ignoring everything around it, despite the volume of the market. The other one was awake, snuffling in a way that could be thought of as high-pitched, if that made sense. It paused, raised its rounded head, and snuffled in her direction. Instantly, the little body wiggled, and squeaks and tiny whistles came from its mouth.

"The girl likes you," the saleswoman said, looking surprised. "Usually, even this young, they hate people."

Jun looked at her. "So why sell them at all? Why capture them, and bring them here?"

"Money," was the quick answer. When Jun gave her a look that clearly read 'not buying that,' the woman added, "and they're amazing creatures. I don't have the skill to keep one. Most people don't. You're the first I've seen bring excitement to them."

The female shirshu was now on her hind legs, her front propping her up to get a better sniff of Jun. She made chittering noises, pawing at the bars and whining.

"I'll take her."

The saleswoman nodded. "I knew you would. But before you do, I want you to hold her. The best way to find out if an animal is best for you is if they can be held by you."

It was strange logic, but Jun agreed, loath to admit that she had never thought of it before, using her whip first and though second.

When the saleswoman picked up the pup, the animal went limp, its whimpers drawn out and defeated. Jun held out her arms and took hold, and instantly the little pup sprung back to life, squirming up close and nestling herself between Jun's breasts, as if she had always meant to be there.

And now, deep within Jun's heart, she was. Without letting go, Jun handed over five hundred gold, but walked away with one shirshu. The saleswoman was mystified, but Jun didn't care. It was a small price to pay.

Because Jun now knew that things would be different. She wouldn't be cruel, she wouldn't use force if she could avoid it, and she wouldn't treat this one like a tool. She was unable to, really.

"One thing!" the saleswoman called after her hurriedly. "They grow really fast! She'll be fully grown by summer."

Jun grinnned, nodded to her, and continued to walk away, feeling her new purchase lightly snore against her breastbone. It would be easy to find a new saddle and bags, easy to find the right food and drink, easy to replace all of the things she had had before.

And there was one more thing she did this time that she didn't do the last.

"You're Nyla," Jun murmured. "You like?"

A purring noise, then a sigh. Jun grinned. She was already deep in love.


End file.
